Raipur (Chattishgarh) [India], January 23 (ANI): India won the toss and decided to field first against the Mitchell Santner-led New Zealand in the second T20I of the five-match series at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium on Friday.
The Suryakumar Yadav-led Men in Blue have 1-0 lead in the high-voltage T20I series against the Black Caps. The hosts won the opening contest by 48 runs, with opener Abhishek Sharma winning the Player of the Match for his blistering half-century.
The five-match T20I series between India and New Zealand will help both countries prepare for the upcoming ICC Men's T20 World Cup, starting next month in India and Sri Lanka.
Suryakumar said all-rounder Axar Patel will not play due to an injury and speedster Jasprit Bumrah has been rested for the second T20I. Harshit Rana and Kuldeep Yadav have returned to the playing XI.
"There is already dew out there, and India haven't chased in recent times, so they want to chase. The same wicket that was used in the ODI series. Axar Patel is missing out due to injury, and Bumrah is resting, with Harshit Rana and Kuldeep Yadav coming into the XI," the Indian captain said.
New Zealand captain Santner said they have made three changes to the team with Tim Seifert, Zak Foulkes and Matt Henry returning to the playing XI.
Teams:
New Zealand (Playing XI): Devon Conway, Tim Seifert(w), Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner(c), Zakary Foulkes, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi, Jacob Duffy
India (Playing XI): Sanju Samson(w), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy. (ANI)