India vs New Zealand: India opts to bowl in 1st T20I, Venkatesh Iyer makes his debut
India and New Zealand are facing off in the opening T20I of the three-match series in Jaipur on Wednesday. While India has opted to bowl, Venkatesh Iyer has been handed his debut cap.
FollowIt is a fresh start for India and New Zealand, as the two sides lock horns in the opening Twenty20 International (T20I) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Wednesday. Indian skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss after Tim Southee's call went against him, as the former preferred chasing, keeping in mind the dew factor.
During the toss, Rohit reasoned that there had been a good amount of dew in the past two days. Thus, chasing would aid the side, while the team has made a good turnaround in just a couple of days since arrival from Dubai, having got to spend a little time at home. On the team, he said that all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer was making his debut, while Shreyas Iyer is back into the side, along with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Siraj and Deepak Chahar.
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"We're playing three seamers and two spinners. We have one eye on the next World Cup. It's a lot of time ahead. We'll try our options, some results might not be immediate, but the process will be crucial," he added.
Meanwhile, Southee too asserted that he would have preferred to chase. Although he recalled the disappointment in the just-concluded ICC T20 World Cup final, losing to Australia in the final, he affirmed that the team is raring to go in this series. "Another chance to give chances. Four changes for us: Neesham, Kane, Sodhi and Milne miss out; Mark Chapman, Todd Astle, Rachin Ravindra and Lockie Ferguson are in," he declared.
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Playing XI
India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar and Mohammed Siraj.
New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, Tim Seifert (wk), Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee (c), Todd Astle, Lockie Ferguson and Trent Boult.
