Shreyas Iyer wins toss, elects to bowl first against New Zealand

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In the fourth T20I match against New Zealand, Team India’s skipper Shreyas Iyer has won the toss and elected to bowl first at the Eden Park in Auckland.

The “Men in Blue” will enter the clash with two major changes, whereas Ishan Kishan will come in place of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been benched, and Mayank Yadav has been included in the playing XI.

After winning the toss, Team India’s skipper Iyer said, “We’re going to bowl. Just following the same pattern every now and then. [On India’s performance in the previous match] Yes, absolutely. The intent, the positivity right from ball one, it was amazing. And the most important aspect I felt was adapting to the conditions. We realized that anything that is bowled hard length or half-volleys was going into the stands. So it’s better bowl yorkers as quickly as possible. So the execution was phenomenal. [On adapting to New Zealand’s changing ground dimensions] Absolutely, and also the wind is following us everywhere. It’s becoming chilly again and again. But, we have decided that we are not going to leave no stone unturned. So that is going to be our mindset. And obviously, we have won the series but I still feel that job is half done. [On India’s approach having won the series] See, it’s important to be ruthless irrespective of whatever the result has been so far. And the boys have been given the same message. You got to be unruffled irrespective of what the occasion is. And I feel everyone is in high spirits. [On today’s pitch] You never know. There is decent amount of grass, so definitely expecting bounce and seam movement as well. [Changes?] Yeah, we’ve got two changes. Ishan comes back in for Vaibhav and Mayank comes in for Bhuvi”.

On the other hand, the “Black Caps” have made just one change, where Kyle Jamieson has to make way for Nathan Smith.

New Zealand’s captain Mitchell Santner said, “We’re gonna have to (turn things around). We’re going to try to play some good cricket. It’s another fresh day. It’s nice on a new ground, new pitch. Just seeing some grass on the surface. So it might just help the bowlers a little more than some of the other games. It looks like another good pitch and you know if it does a little bit early and then try to get through that, it’s one of those grounds where if you give yourself a chance you can really cash in. (On the improvements needed) I think, you know, we’ve talked a lot obviously the last couple of days about plans and stuff. With the batting group, we did a great job. Batters, you know, different guys stepping up which is nice. And then the bowling, we came up against some good batting the other night. So that has, trying to find ways of getting wickets. And if we can’t [get wickets], we need to try to get through the power play. And then in the field we’ve been a little bit sloppy at times. Tonight’s ground is going to be tough for catching with the wind. But it shows, catches win matches and it’s been quite appropriate this series. (On being against a good batting unit) I think it’s credit to the way India approaches the power play. They come really hard, and they are two of the best in the game. We’ve seen it obviously in international cricket and in the IPL. Obviously Kishan’s back tonight and he’s done it as well. So we have to try, the power play is such a massive part of this game. And then through the middle we can do what we can to try and squeeze it a little bit. (On the changes) We got one change. Nathan Smith is back in for Kyle Jamieson”.

IND vs NZ 4th T20I: Confirmed Playing XIs

India: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (C), Tilak Varma, Naman Dhir, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav.

New Zealand: Tim Seifert (WK), Finn Allen, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Bevon Jacobs, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (C), Nathan Smith, Jacob Duffy, Adam Milne, Matthew Fisher.

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