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Axar Patel and Ishan Kishan returned to the Indian team for the fifth and final T20I against New Zealand in Thiruvananthapuram with Sanju Samson preserving his place in the playing XI despite a lean run. Suryakumar Yadav announced the team changes after winning the toss and electing to bat at the Greenfield International Stadium, where both teams will be aiming to end the series on a high in what is their final fixture ahead of the T20 World Cup.
LIVE | India vs New Zealand, 5th T20I in Thiruvananthapuram
Besides Axar and Ishan, leg-spinner Varun Chakravarthy also returned to India’s playing XI, with Harshit Rana, Ravi Bishnoi and Kuldeep Yadav getting benched. The Men in Blue, thus, appear to have picked the XI that they will be fielding in the T20 World Cup barring Tilak Varma, who will be replacing either Samson or Kishan once he regains fitness.
Black Caps make four changes to lineup
New Zealand, meanwhile, made four changes, with Finn Allen replacing Devon Conway at the top of the other and all-rounder Bevon Jacobs replacing Mark Chapman. As for the pace department, Kyle Jamieson and Lockie Ferguson were picked in place of Matt Henry and Zak Foulkes.
India had earlier clinched the five-match T20I series with an unassailable 3-0 lead, outclassing the Kiwis in each of the first three games. The most clinical of those wins came at Guwahati’s Barsapara Stadium, where India chased down a target of 154 with eight wickets and half of their overs to spare.
The Mitchell Santner-led Kiwis, however, bounced back in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday, thrashing the Men in Blue by 50 runs after posting a commanding 215/7 with Shivam Dube’s blistering 65 off 23 balls – in which he brought up his half-century in just 15 balls – going in vain.
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View AllIndia vs New Zealand, 5th T20I Playing XIs
India: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson(wk), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah
New Zealand: Tim Seifert(wk), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Bevon Jacobs, Mitchell Santner(c), Kyle Jamieson, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Jacob Duffy
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