Top 10 funny memes ahead of series-deciding 3rd T20I between India and New Zealand

Team India and New Zealand will square off in the third and final T20I of the ongoing series tonight (February 1) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The three-match series is evenly poised, with both teams winning one match each going into this contest.

Indian captain Hardik Pandya won the toss and chose to bat first on Wednesday night. Umran Malik replaced Yuzvendra Chahal in Team India's playing XI. Chahal bowled phenomenally in the previous match and will be highly disappointed to sit out of this game. New Zealand have brought in Ben Lister for Jacob Duffy.

Here are the playing XIs:

India XI: 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 XI: Finn Allen, Devon Conway(w), Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner(c), Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Ben Lister, Blair Tickner

Fans observed the team composition of Men in Blue ahead of the match and expressed their reactions on social media platforms through memes.

They were disappointed with the team management for not giving a chance to Prithvi Shaw even after the repeated failures of Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill in the opening role.

Here is a collection of the best reactions:

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"Winning and losing happens but these knockout games teach you a lot" - Team India captain Hardik Pandya

Speaking after winning the toss, Hardik Pandya emphasized the importance of playing in pressure matches and felt it would give the team some much-needed experience moving forward.

Pandya also explained the rationale behind his decision to bat first by pointing out his experience of playing in the IPL final at the venue last year. He said:

"It looks like a very good wicket. When we played the IPL final here, the ball did much more in the second innings. Keeping that in mind, we wanted to bat first. The approach they are showing is giving us a lot of confidence.

"They were difficult tracks and all the batters' eyes have lit up looking at this surface. These are the games we strive for, we've spoken about this. Winning and losing happens but these knockout games teach you a lot."

Do you think Prithvi Shaw deserved a chance in playing XI in this match? Sound off in the comments section.