India Bowl First in ODI Decider vs NZ as Arshdeep Singh Returns

The three-game series is locked at 1-1 and the decider promises a high-stakes contest between India and New Zealand. After winning the toss, Gill said Arshdeep comes back into the playing eleven in place of right-arm pacer Prasidh Krishna.

"That's what we spoke (on the decision to bowl). Last time, batting first, New Zealand put us under pressure. One of the decisions behind we're bowling first is that the surface looks good, don't expect a lot of dew, and runs on the board would let us chase better. Need to vary our lengths in the middle-overs, and that's what we want to do," said Gill.

New Zealand captain Michael Bracewell said his side was unchanged from their win in Rajkot. "We would have bowled first, but it looks like a good batting pitch. It's a decider and an exciting opportunity for us to win our first ODI series here in India.

"They're getting used to international cricket and have made a good fist of it so far (on the new faces), but the pressure is on now and it's a good chance for them to play their best game," he said.

India will take confidence from their unbeaten record at this iconic venue. The square boundaries are at 62m and 63m respectively, with 71m for the one going straight down the ground.

The black soil pitch has been described in the pitch report as firm and hard underneath, with a covering of grass that should aid pacers. But with little movement anticipated off the seam, batters are likely to enjoy conditions that favour stroke play, pointing towards a high-scoring affair in the series decider.

Playing XIs

India: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (captain), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, and Mohammed Siraj

New Zealand: Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Hay (wk), Michael Bracewell (captain), Zakary Foulkes, Kyle Jamieson, Kristian Clarke, and Jayden Lennox

- IANS