Ranchi: India captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to field against New Zealand in the second T20I of the three-match series, at the JSCA International Stadium, here Friday.
Speaking at the toss, Rohit confirmed that pacer Harshal Patel — the Purple Cap winner of IPL 2021, is making his India debut in Friday’s match, replacing injured Mohammed Siraj.
“We are going to field first. We have seen it here, it’s a nice option to go with. Considering the dew factor, it’s good to chase in Ranchi. It was a good effort from the boys. It was good learning for them as they finished the game, it was a good positive to have from that game,” said Sharma.
“The game is such that you need some energy and experience. We have youngsters who want to express themselves, it’s a good setup, it’s important moving forward. We have one change, Harshal comes in for Siraj,” he added.
On the other hand, the Tim Southee-led Black Caps made three changes in their playing XI as they brought in Adam Milne, James Neesham, and Ish Sodhi in place of Lockie Ferguson, Rachin Ravindra, and Todd Astle.
“We would have bowled first, taking the dew into consideration. It’s always about trying to improve. We have to focus on the positives. We’ll have to deal with the dew and find a way to put up a good performance. We have three changes,” said Southee at the toss.
Playing XIs:
New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, Tim Seifert(w), James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee(c), Adam Milne, Trent Boult
India: KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma(c), Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant(w), Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Harshal Patel
