Suryakumar Yadav and Mohammed Shami have been included in India's starting eleven after captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to field first in their high-stakes encounter against New Zealand at the HPCA Stadium in the 2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup on Sunday.
Both teams remain undefeated in the tournament, with New Zealand's last ODI World Cup loss to India dating back to 2003. In the absence of Hardik Pandya, who is sidelined due to a left ankle injury sustained in India's previous match against Bangladesh in Pune, Suryakumar has been brought in to strengthen the batting lineup.
To bolster their bowling in the absence of Hardik, India has drafted in Shami, omitting a fast-bowling all-rounder in Thakur. These changes mean that India will be competing with only five bowlers in the showdown against New Zealand, leaving no sixth bowling option available in case one of them has an off day.
Rohit, upon winning the toss, stated, "No particular reason to bowl first. In training yesterday, we thought dew came in early. Good pitch, shouldn't change too much. Important to keep momentum going and forget the past. We know the nature of the WC - all teams can beat anyone. This is one place everyone wants to come and play. Picturesque."
New Zealand's captain, Tom Latham, mentioned that he would have also elected to bowl first and confirmed that the team's lineup remains unchanged. This means that veteran fast bowler Tim Southee, who is recovering from a fractured thumb, is not part of the playing eleven despite his availability for Sunday's match.
"It 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. Can't afford to put our guard down, anyone can beat anyone," he added.
Playing XIs
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wicket-keeper), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Mohammed Siraj
New Zealand: Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (captain & wicket-keeper), Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, and Trent Boult.
