ISLAMABAD: New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner won the toss and chose to field first in Dubai, continuing India’s record streak of consecutive ODI toss losses.
Both teams made one change each – Daryl Mitchell, who recovered from a stomach bug, replaced Devon Conway for the Black Caps, while India gave mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy his Champions Trophy debut, replacing fast bowler Harshit Rana.
India play four spinners against New Zealand
At the toss, India’s captain Rohit Sharma mentioned that Harshit Rana had been rested. Rana had played in India’s last five international matches, including the Champions Trophy games against Pakistan and Bangladesh, as well as the three-match ODI series against England.
India had the option of including left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh, but they chose to play Varun Chakravarthy instead.
This decision gave them four frontline spinners in the playing XI: Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, and Chakravarthy.
The Dubai pitch has been slow and has occasionally offered some turn, making it favourable for spinners.
Dried wicket to assist spin bowling
The wicket appeared drier, which could further assist spin bowling. Additionally, the large boundaries at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium suggest that attacking slower bowlers could be challenging.
India previously used four spin bowlers in each of the three ODIs against Sri Lanka in August 2024 on spin-friendly pitches, though the fourth options were batters like Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Riyan Parag.
The last time India bowled over 30 overs of spin in an ODI was during the 2018 Asia Cup final against Bangladesh, where Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, and Kedar Jadhav were the four spinners used.
