Mount Maunganui, Nov 13:
Stand-in captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and elected to bowl against New Zealand in the fourth One-Day International of the five-match series at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Friday.
Leading the series 2-0 after winning the opening two games and seeing the third washed out in Hamilton, India made three changes to their playing XIābringing in Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, and Kuldeep Yadav in place of Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, and Anshul Kamboj, who have departed to prepare for the two-match Test series starting November 19. Captaining India in men’s ODIs for the first time, Iyer cited ground conditions and the likelihood of evening dew for opting to field first.
New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner confirmed six changes to the hosts’ line-up as several regulars also shifted focus to Test preparations. A victory at Bay Oval will hand India an unassailable 3-0 series lead with one match to spare.