3rd ODI: Indian skipper Shubman Gill wins toss, asks New Zealand to bat first in series decider
Jan 18, 2026
Indore (Madhya Pradesh) [India], January 18 : Indian skipper Shubman Gill won the toss and opted to field against New Zealand in the third and final ODI in Indore on Sunday.
The third ODI between India and New Zealand will be the series decider as the visitors denied the Men in Blue the opportunity to gain an unassailable lead in the second match of the three-match series at Rajkot.
India were convincing in the first match, the visitors came back strongly in Rajkot, Daryl Mitchell's splendid hundred easing them to victory.
"That's what we spoke about. Great challenge for us, NZ put us under pressure, but this is what the players expect. Not a lot of dew expected, but we want to bowl first and see a score that we can chase. [What went wrong in Rajkot?] We need to vary our lengths a bit in the middle overs, and that is one area we want to improve. We have one change, Arshdeep comes back for Prasidh," Shubman Gill said after winning the toss.
"We would have bowled first, but it looks like a good batting pitch. It's a decider and an exciting opportunity for us to win our 1st ODI series here in India. They're getting used to international cricket and have made a good fist of it so far (on the new faces), but the pressure is on now, and it's a good chance for them to play their best game. No changes from the last match," New Zealand skipper Michael Bracewell said.
Teams:
New Zealand (Playing XI): Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Hay(w), Michael Bracewell(c), Zakary Foulkes, Kyle Jamieson, Kristian Clarke, Jayden Lennox
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill(c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj.