India captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bowl first against New Zealand in an ODI World Cup 2023 match at the picturesque Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) stadium in Dharamsala on Sunday.
Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya has been ruled out with injury for this ‘table toppers’ encounter, forcing India to make a couple of changes in their playing XI.
The Rohit Sharma led side has brought in Mohammed Shami and Suryakumar Yadav in place of Hardik and Shardul Thakur. On the other hand, New Zealand, who will miss the services of Kane Williamson, are unchanged for this epic clash.
“We’ll bowl first. No reason, we were here training yesterday and felt a bit of dew come in. Looks like a good pitch, we’ll back ourselves to chase. Quite important to keep the momentum going, forget what happened in the past. Need to be at it all the time,” said Rohit at the toss.
“This is one place everyone wants to come and play, beautiful weather and nice stadium. Hardik isn’t available, so even Shardul misses out. We’ve got Shami and Surya coming in,” he added.
Meanwhile, New Zealand skipper Tom Latham also wanted to bowl first considering the due factor.
“We’d have bowled first as well. Looks like a good surface, and we know the dew will come in. The important thing is whatever we do, we need to do well. We need to keep the momentum going. We are in a new ground, new conditions so need to adjust to these conditions as quickly as we can,” said Latham.
“We’ve got the same team for today – three seamers and two spinners,” he added.
Both India and New Zealand are the only undefeated teams remaining in the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023 so far and they will look to continue their winning streak.
Playing XIs of both teams:
India: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj
New Zealand: Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham(w/c), Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult
