India vs New Zealand, 1st T20I: Toss result and playing XIs for today's match, umpires list and pitch report

India vs New Zealand 1st T20I, Ranchi — The Men in Blue take on the Kiwis in the first T20I in Ranchi.

Having crushed New Zealand 3-0 in the ODIs, Team India will now shift their focus to the T20I series, which begins in Ranchi on Friday, January 27. As part of the Men in Blue’s workload management policy, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been rested again. All-rounder Hardik Pandya is back in charge of the team for the T20Is.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of the series, Pandya made it clear that Shubman Gill will continue to open the innings in T20Is, on the back of the superlative form he has displayed in the ODIs. Gill did not have a great debut T20I series against Sri Lanka, registering a highest score of 46 from three games. He would, however, take the confidence of his one-day success into the T20 format.

Indian fans would also be keen to see Suryakumar Yadav back among the runs in his favorite format after yet another disappointing showing in the ODIs. On the bowling front, Team India look strong in both pace and spin. Led by Mitchell Santner, the Kiwis will have their task cut out in the T20Is as well.

Today's IND vs NZ toss result

India have won the toss and opted to bowl first. Speaking about the decision, Men in Blue captain Pandya said:

“Looks like a good track. I can see dew right now.”

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India have picked left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav in the playing XI ahead of leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal.

IND vs NZ - Today's match playing XIs

India: Ishan Kishan (w), Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (c), Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Shivam Mavi, Kuldeep Yadav, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh.

New Zealand: Finn Allen, Devon Conway (w), Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner (c), Michael Bracewell, Jacob Duffy, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Blair Tickner.

Today's IND vs New Zealand pitch report

According to Ajit Agarkar, the pitch looks excellent. Even covering of grass; it’s as hard as any pitch that you would see. With the new ball, there might be a little bit of help for the seamers. The talking point is obviously the dew - there seems to be a lot of it. The curator’s cut the outfield in a different way - keeping the grass as minimal as possible to contain the dew situation.

Today's IND vs NZ match players list

India squad: Ishan Kishan (wk), Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Hardik Pandya (c), Washington Sundar, Shivam Mavi, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jitesh Sharma, Mukesh Kumar, Prithvi Shaw.

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New Zealand squad: Devon Conway (wk), Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Lockie Ferguson, Ish Sodhi, Blair Tickner, Jacob Duffy, Michael Rippon, Dane Cleaver, Henry Shipley, Ben Lister.