Team India made one forced change to their playing eleven against the Blackcaps as pacer Mohammed Siraj misses due to an injury he sustained during the first T20I in Jaipur. The team management included Haryana pacer Harshal Patel in the playing eleven and handed the right-arm quick his T20I debut cap.

Patel – who was the leading wicket-taker in the IPL 2021 – was rewarded by the selectors for his impressive show in the domestic circuit but he will be faced with a massive challenge of countering the conditions adverse to his bowling. The visitors too made three changes to their side in what is a must-win game for them.

After winning the toss, Rohit said, “We are going to field first. We have seen it here, it’s a nice option to go with. Considering the dew factor, it’s good to chase in Ranchi. It was a good effort from the boys. It was a good learning for them as they finished the game, it was a good positive to have from that game. The game is such that you need some energy and experience. We have youngsters who want to express themselves, it’s a good setup, it’s important moving forward. We have one forced change, Siraj injured his finger in the first game, so Harshal comes in.”

The visiting captain, Southee, said he too was looking to bowl first and the three changes they are making.

“We would have bowled first, taking the dew into consideration, but there’s going to be dew right throughout the game. It’s always about trying to improve, so we had to keep fighting and take the game deep in the first match. We have to focus on the positives. We’ll have to deal with the dew, no point of using it as an excuse, we just need to find a way to put up a good performance. We have three changes. Milne, Neesham and Sodhi are back for Ferguson, Rachin Ravindra and Astle,” said Southee.

Playing XI:

New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, Tim Seifert(w), James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee(c), Adam Milne, Trent Boult

India: KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma(c), Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant(w), Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Harshal Patel.