NZ vs IND, 5th ODI: New Zealand win toss, opt to field first

Nov 15, 2026

Mount Maunganui [New Zealand], November 15 :  New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner won the toss and opted to field first against India in the fifth and final ODI of the series on Sunday at Bay Oval.
The series is 2-1 in India's favour. While India won the first two rain-hit matches and the third one at Hamilton was washed out, a Matt Henry six-wicket haul powered Kiwis to a 244-run win in the fourth ODI. India has a shot at winning a big overseas series, while NZ would be aiming to level the scoreline.
NZ skipper Santner said during the toss, "We are going to bowl because of maybe some dew later on. (Matt) Henry and (Kyle) Jamieson is gone, Duff (Jacob Duffy) is back, so four seamers again. It is about building the depth."
Indian skipper Shreyas Iyer said, "We were also going to bowl first. It is a good sign that we are batting first. It was disappointing but also reflected how we will be going today. Yash (Thakur) wants to play for the country; glad he is debuting today. (Mohammed) Siraj has also been waiting and has been around for a while. Super excited for him as well."
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer(c), Ishan Kishan(w), Axar Patel, Naman Dhir, Auqib Nabi, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Yash Thakur
New Zealand (Playing XI): Will Young, Tim Seifert(w), Nick Kelly, Dean Foxcroft, Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner(c), Kristian Clarke, Blair Tickner, Jacob Duffy, Matthew Fisher.

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