India Wins Toss, Opts to Bat Against NZ in 1st ODI

India captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bat against New Zealand in the first ODI in the three-match series at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Wednesday.

The Rohit Sharma-led side will be high on confidence after they defeated Sri Lanka in the recently concluded series. On the other hand, New Zealand will have a tough time with Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Kane Williamson and Trent Boult all unavailable for the first match of the series.

The New Zealand home series will feature three T20Is and three ODIs. India will begin the series with the 50-over matches starting January 18. The T20 series will commence on January 27 and end on February 1.

Speaking at the time of toss, India captain Rohit Sharma said, "We will bat first. Looks a good pitch, little dry. We want to make sure we want to bowl under lights and defend score. We did well against Sri Lanka, but this is a different challenge. Important for us to keep the momentum going. The spirit in the team is really good. Three changes. Hardik is back, Shardul is back. SKY and Ishan are playing as well."

Speaking at the time of toss, New Zealand skipper Tom Latham said, "Most of the squad has pretty much played a good number of games. Three seamers and two spinners today."

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami.

New Zealand (Playing XI): Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham(w/c), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Henry Shipley, Mitchell Santner, Lockie Ferguson and Blair Tickner.

(with inputs from ANI)

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