Christchurch [New Zealand], October 24 (ANI): Team India captain Shreyas Iyer has won the toss and opted to bowl first against New Zealand in the second T20I of the five-match series at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Saturday.
After winning the toss, Iyer said India chose to bowl first due to the dew factor and confirmed two changes, with injured Ishan Kishan replaced by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who will bat at No. 3, while Prince Yadav comes in for Mayank Yadav.
Kishan is out of the second T20I due to a low-grade right adductor strain.
“We're going to bowl first. Dew is one of the reasons. It's been good, some time to recover and catch up on sleep. Everyone is in good shape and space. It's important to maintain aggression, but we need to be proactive and ensure we don't need an extra fielder inside. Two changes: Ishan is injured, Vaibhav is in, and he'll bat at 3. Prince is in place of Mayank - a tactical change,” he said at the toss presentations.
New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner said the team remains confident despite being below their best in the previous match and confirmed Jacob Duffy is replacing Adam Milne for the match.
“We know we are a good team; even though we were a bit off the ball, we still fought hard and had a great match. Yesterday was just a refresh day. Duffy is in for Milne; that's the only change - just a bit of rotation for the seamers with a lot of Test cricket coming up,” he said.
India head into the second T20I with a 1-0 lead in the five-match series after securing a four-wicket victory in the opener. Sanju Samson laid the foundation for the chase with a fluent 67 off 33 balls, while Naman Dhir produced an explosive unbeaten 42 off 15 deliveries to guide India home with two balls to spare. Captain Shreyas Iyer also contributed 42 off 28 balls.
Earlier in the match, Glenn Phillips smashed an unbeaten 82 off 40 balls, while Finn Allen scored 45 off 24 deliveries as New Zealand posted 225/4, their highest total in home T20Is.
India vs New Zealand 2nd T20I playing 11s:
India playing 11: Sanju Samson(w), Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Shreyas Iyer(c), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav.
New Zealand playing 11: Finn Allen, Tim Seifert(w), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Bevon Jacobs, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner(c), Nathan Smith, Matt Henry, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson. (ANI)
2nd T20I: India opt to bowl against New Zealand; Sooryavanshi in for injured Kishan at Christchurch
