Men�s ODI WC: Suryakumar, Shami come in as India win toss, elect to bowl first against New Zealand

Dharamshala, Oct 22 (IANS) Suryakumar Yadav and Mohammed Shami come into India’s playing eleven as captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bowl first against New Zealand in a top-of-the-table clash of the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup at the HPCA Stadium on Sunday.

Both teams are yet to lose a game in the competition, with New Zealand last losing to India in an ODI World Cup game back in 2003. With no Hardik Pandya unavailable due to a left ankle injury sustained in India’s previous game against Bangladesh at Pune, Suryakumar has been brought in place of him to boost the batting power.

But to strengthen their bowling in Hardik’s absence, India have brought in Shami and left out a fast-bowling all-rounder in Thakur. The two changes means India will play with just five bowlers in the clash against New Zealand, which means if one of them has an off day, there’s no sixth bowling option available.

“No particular reason (to bowl first). In training yesterday, we thought dew came in early. Good pitch, shouldn't change too much. Important to keep 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,” said Rohit after winning the toss.

New Zealand captain Tom Latham remarked he would have bowled first as well and added that the side is unchanged, which means veteran fast bowler Tim Southee, recuperating from a fractured thumb, is still out of the playing eleven despite being available for Sunday’s clash.

“Looks 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 need to adjust to these conditions as quickly as we can. Can't afford to put guard down, anyone can beat anyone,” he 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