Suryakumar Yadav and Mohammed Shami Included in India’s Playing XI for Top-of-the-Table Clash Against New Zealand
In a top-of-the-table clash at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, India, led by captain Rohit Sharma, elected to bowl first against New Zealand.
Captain Rohit Sharma made two crucial changes to India’s playing eleven for their top-of-the-table clash with New Zealand in the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup. India won the toss and elected to bowl first at the HPCA Stadium on Sunday.
Suryakumar Yadav replaced Hardik Pandya, who is unavailable due to a left ankle injury sustained in India’s previous game against Bangladesh in Pune, to bolster the batting lineup. To strengthen the bowling unit in Hardik’s absence, Mohammed Shami was brought in, and fast-bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur was left out. These two changes mean that India will play with just five bowlers in the match against New Zealand, with no sixth bowling option available in case one of them has an off day.
Rohit Sharma, after 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. It’s important to keep the 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 captain Tom Latham mentioned that he would have also chosen to bowl first and confirmed that the side remains unchanged. This means veteran fast bowler Tim Southee, who is recovering from a fractured thumb, is still not part of the playing eleven despite being available for Sunday’s clash.
“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 we need to adjust to these conditions as quickly as we can. We can’t afford to let our guard down because anyone can beat anyone,” Latham 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.