IND vs NZ: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in playing XI, but there's a twist

India captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and elected to bowl against New Zealand in the second T20 International on Saturday. India made two changes to their playing XI. Injured Ishan Kishan was replaced by 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, while Prince Yadav came in for Mayank Yadav. Iyer confirmed that Sooryavanshi would bat at No. 3 and not open the innings. India will continue with Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson as their opening pair.

Iyer said the possibility of dew was one of the reasons behind India's decision to bowl first. He also stressed the need to maintain the aggressive approach that helped the team in the first T20I. "We're going to bowl first. Yes, absolutely. That's one of the reasons (On dew being a factor). We have had a little bit of time to recover and catch up on some sleep. Everyone is in decent shape, I would say. Some of the players, including myself, do their training on match day. So, we are in a good place. It is important to maintain the aggression and repeat the things we did well in the first game," Shreyas Iyer said during the toss. The Indian captain also pointed out the need to improve the team's fielding and avoid mistakes in the final overs. "In addition, we need to be proactive in the field and ensure we don't have an extra fielder inside the circle, especially in the last over. Ishan is injured, so Vaibhav comes in for him. Prince comes in for Mayank, which is just a tactical change. He is going to bat at number three (on Vaibhav's batting position)," the Indian skipper said.

New Zealand also made a change to their playing XI, with Jacob Duffy replacing Adam Milne. Captain Mitchell Santner said his team had taken positives from the first T20I despite losing the match in the final over. He added that the team needed to improve its execution in key moments. "(On the 1st T20I) They are a very good team, and I think we missed the mark slightly. That comes from the way they approach their game. It was a great game of cricket in the end. Losing in the last over is disappointing, but there were obviously many positives. We need to execute the small details better and see what happens," Mitchell Santner said. Santner said the players had been given time to rest after returning to their hotel late at night. With matches coming thick and fast, the team wanted to make sure everyone was ready for the second T20I. "(On the preparation for this match) Training was optional. We had a morning session, and we only got back here around 2 a.m. Therefore, it was a day to refresh, especially with the games coming thick and fast. I think the guys rested well and should be ready to go today," he said. The New Zealand captain also explained that Duffy's inclusion was part of the team's rotation policy and was not linked to Milne's performance. "(On the changes) Duffy comes in for Milne. With the number of games we have coming up, not just T20s but one-day internationals as well, there will be some rotation among the senior players, especially with a lot of Test cricket coming up.

It is nothing to do with performance; it is just a bit of rotation, and we will see what Duffy can do tonight," Santner added.

India: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Naman Dhir, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav.

New Zealand: Finn Allen, Tim Seifert (wk), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Bevon Jacobs, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Nathan Smith, Matt Henry, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson.