India have made two changes to their XI for their match against New Zealand in Dharamsala today (October 22).
India won the toss and will play New Zealand today (October 22) at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala. Shardul Thakur and the injured Hardik Pandya were left out of the starting XI. Their successors Suryakumar Yadav and Mohammed Shami will play their first matches at the 2023 World Cup.
Rohit Sharma said during the toss that there was no special reason behind his decision to bat first. The tau they observed during training made the decision easier.
This left India with only five bowling options. This is probably why Shami replaced Thakur and strengthened the bowling department.
But New Zealand remains the same. Captain Kane Williamson is still recovering from a broken hand and Tim Southee was deemed fit for the match but was left out of the starting XI. The Blackcaps decided to stick with the bowling combination that has brought them results in the past.
India and New Zealand are the only two unbeaten teams in the World Cup, each winning their first four matches. Unless Laine makes a spoiler play or the game ends in a tie, he could see one of the two teams suffer their first loss of the tournament today.
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