Toss New Zealand Opted to bat vs India
Under overcast skies at McLean Park in Napier, New Zealand won the toss, which was half an hour late, and elected to bat in the final T20I against India.
Mark Chapman was a straight swap for Kane Williamson, who was ruled out of the game due to a medical appointment, and the hosts were led by Tim Southee. India added another sevens bowling option in Harshal Patel in place of Washington Sundar as their only change.
The pitch was covered for more than two hours due to continuous rain earlier in the day. The square boundary at Napier was short while the surface had mounds of grass that could have come to the aid of the bowlers.
India captain Hardik Pandya said the key to playing in such small square dimensions is not to overthink them. “We keep it in mind but with the skills of our batsmen and bowlers we don’t need to think much,” he said. “On a land like this, you shouldn’t think too much because there’s very little you can control.”
New Zealand: 1 Finn Allen, 2 Dion Conway (wicket), 3 Mark Chapman, 4 Glenn Phillips, 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 James Neesham, 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 Adam Milne, 9 Ash Sodhi, 10, Tim Southee (captain), 11 Loki Ferguson
India: 1 Ishan Kishan, 2 Rishabh Pant (wicket), 3 Surya Kumar Yadav, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 Hardik Pandya (captain), 6 Deepak Hooda, 7 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 8 Harshal Patel, 9 Arshaddeep Singh, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Yuzvendra
