IND Vs NZ Toss: Santner Draws First Blood In T20 WC Final; SKY Makes No Change In Playing XI

India vs New Zealand toss update [Source: x]

The big day has arrived, India is set to take on the New Zealand side in a riveting T20 World Cup final at the iconic Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. The two teams have met thrice in the T20 World Cups, and each time, the Kiwis have prevailed as they hold the psychological edge.

However, the last time these two teams met in a T20I series, India thrashed the Black Caps and as a result, there are no clear favourites for this big clash. Both teams have witnessed a topsy-turvy tournament, with India needing to beat both Zimbabwe and the West Indies to reach the semis, where they narrowly escaped England.

On the other hand, the Black Caps have met with a similar fate as they finished second in the group stage, before scraping past the Super 8 stage to annihilate South Africa in the semis. Their openers are in red-hot form, and will hold the key against India.

With the grand finale set to commence, let us look at what transpired at the toss and the changes made by the two teams (if any).

IND Vs NZ T20 World Cup semis toss update

New Zealand won the toss and Mitchell Santner, the Kiwi skipper had no hesitation in electing to bowl first, as he expects dew to come and help the batting side in the chase. The skipper has made a solitary change, with Jacob Duffy coming in, and Cole McConchie out from the playing XI.

On the other hand, Suryakumar Yadav was happy to bat first as India have gone in with an unchanged XI.

IND Vs NZ Playing XIs

India Playing XI: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Hardik Pandya, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh

New Zealand Playing XI: Tim Seifert (wk), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner (c), Jimmy Neesham, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Jacob Duffy

What the captains had to say during toss

Mitchell Santner (NZ Captain): "We are going to bowl first. We probably, knew it. It will do something at the top. They have a good top order and we will look to restrict them to a chasable total. Boys are good. This is what we play the game for. It's going to be an awesome night playing in front of this crowd.

We knew that making semis is going to be a great job. It was pleasing. The guys will take a lot of confidence from it. It's a good challenge tonight and we are looking forward to it."

Suryakumar Yadav (IND captain): "We are good, we are happy to bat first. It has been working for us. In the last game, we also played on a similar kind of a wicket, red soild. So happy to bat first. 

[On batting first] Always, you play semi-final or a World Cup final, it is good to have runs on the board. You come out and defend, the bowlers are doing a wonderful job as well. 

[On being defending champions] It feels good. But it is history now. New World Cup, same venue from 2023 but yeah, we are very excited for it.

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