India Opt to Bat in Final T20I as Both Sides Ring Changes Ahead of World Cup

India chose to bat first against New Zealand after winning the toss in the fifth and final T20I at Thiruvananthapuram, opting to test their ability to defend a total in their last match before the T20 World Cup.

With the series already secured, India captain Suryakumar Yadav said the decision was driven by the expectation of dew later in the evening and a desire to put the bowlers through match-like pressure ahead of the global tournament.

“We want to challenge ourselves and see how our bowlers go defending a score, especially with dew around,” Suryakumar said at the toss.

Both teams made several changes to their line-ups. India recalled Ishan Kishan, who had missed the fourth T20I due to a minor niggle, along with Axar Patel and Varun Chakravarthy. Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravi Bishnoi were left out. Barring the absence of Tilak Varma, who is expected to recover from injury in time for the World Cup warm-up matches, the XI closely resembled India’s first-choice T20I side.

New Zealand made four changes, with Finn Allen, Bevon Jacobs, Kyle Jamieson and Lockie Ferguson coming into the XI in place of Devon Conway, Mark Chapman, Zak Foulkes and Matt Henry. Henry was rested as a precaution after picking up a niggle, according to captain Mitchell Santner.

Allen returned to international cricket for the first time since March 2025, fresh from a prolific Big Bash League campaign in which he finished as the leading run-scorer for title winners Perth Scorchers. Ferguson, like Allen on a casual contract with New Zealand Cricket, was also making his first appearance for the national side since November 2024.

With both teams heading into the T20 World Cup after this match, the contest serves as a final opportunity to fine-tune combinations under match conditions.

India XI:
Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah

New Zealand XI:
Tim Seifert (wk), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Bevon Jacobs, Mitchell Santner (capt), Kyle Jamieson, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Jacob Duffy