INDvNZ T20I: India opt to field, Harshal Patel to debut in T20I

Ranchi: India is set to lock horns with New Zealand in the 2nd T20 international game in Ranchi. Indian skipper Rohit Sharma after winning the toss has opted to field in the JSCA International Stadium Complex considering the dew factor that started to set in early on the ground.

“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. The game is such that you need some energy and experience,” said the Indian skipper ahead of the game.

In the absence of Siraj due to the finger injury, Harshal Patel is making his debut in T20I.

Oldest T20I debutants for India:

38y 232d Rahul Dravid

33y 221d Sachin Tendulkar

31y 177d Sreenath Aravid

31y 44d Stuart Binny

31y 39d Murali Kartik

30y 361d HARSHAL PATEL

Kiwis have got Milne, Neesham and Sodhi back in the team but the team is playing without Kane Williamson. Tim Southee is the captain of Blackcaps who would eye on the win against India in their homeland.

Kiwis skipper said, “It’s always about trying to improve, so we had to keep fighting and take the game deep in the first match. We have to focus on the positives. We’ll have to deal with the dew, no point of using it as an excuse, we just need to find a way to put up a good performance. We have three changes”.

Teams:

New Zealand (Playing XI): 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 (Playing XI): KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma(c), Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant(w), Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Harshal Patel