India won the toss and elected to field against New Zealand at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala today (October 22). Shardul Thakur and the injured Hardik Pandya missed out from the XI. Suryakumar Yadav and Mohammed Shami their replacements, will be playing their first games at the 2023 World Cup.

Rohit Sharma said at the toss that while there was no particular reason behind his decision to field first. The dew they had witnessed during training made the decision easier.

Pandya had already been ruled out of the game following the injury he suffered against Bangladesh in Pune. With no other seam-bowling all-rounder in the squad, India went in with the extra batter, Suryakumar.

That left India with just five bowling options, which was perhaps why Shami replaced Thakur, strengthening the bowling department in the process.

New Zealand, on the other hand, are unchanged. Captain Kane Williamson is still recovering from his broken hand, while Tim Southee, who had been passed fit for this game, has not been able to make it to the XI. The Blackcaps chose to stick to the bowling combination that has brought them results so far.

India and New Zealand are the only two unbeaten teams at the World Cup so far, having won their first four games each. One of the two teams is set to register their first defeat of the tournament today – unless rain decides to play spoilsport or the match results in a tie.

New Zealand have historically held the upper hand over India in ICC tournaments: India last beat them came at the 2003 World Cup. Since then, New Zealand have triumphed at the 2019 World Cup, the 2016 and 2021 T20 World Cups, and the 2019-21 World Test Championship final.