Auckland, Oct 2026 : India captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss for the fourth consecutive time in the five-match T20I series against New Zealand and elected to bowl first at Eden Park on Friday. With India already holding an unassailable 3-0 lead, the visitors are aiming to complete a 5-0 series whitewash.
India made two changes to their playing XI, bringing back wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan and fast bowler Mayank Yadav. They replaced young opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and experienced pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who featured in the previous match.
Kishan returns after missing the last two T20Is due to a low-grade strain in his right adductor (groin). His availability strengthens India's batting and wicketkeeping options. Sooryavanshi, who scored 45 runs in the third T20I, makes way for the returning batter.
Mayank also returns to the side, replacing Bhuvneshwar, who has yet to make a significant impact since his comeback to the Indian team.
Explaining his decision at the toss, Iyer said India wanted to continue with the approach that had worked for them in the previous matches.
"We're going to bowl. Just following the same pattern. The intent, the positivity was there from ball one. The execution was phenomenal," the Indian captain said.
He added that the team was in high spirits and expected assistance for the fast bowlers from the conditions at Eden Park.
"It's important to be ruthless. The boys have been given the same message. Everyone is in high spirits. Expecting bounce and seam movement. Ishan Kishan comes in for Vaibhav and Mayank comes in for Bhuvi," Iyer said.
New Zealand also made one change, bringing Nathan Smith into the playing XI in place of Kyle Jamieson. Jamieson will miss the remainder of the series as part of workload management.
The hosts will be looking to register their first victory of the series and avoid a clean sweep on home soil.
India vice-captain Tilak Varma had indicated ahead of the match that the team was keen to make the most of the opportunity to secure a 5-0 series victory.
"We are thinking this is a great opportunity to achieve a clean sweep. The next goal is to win the upcoming match and give the Indian crowd a great chance to witness a 5-0 series win," Tilak told reporters.
Playing XIs
India: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Mayank Yadav, Prince Yadav.
New Zealand: Finn Allen, Tim Seifert (wk), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Bevon Jacobs, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Nathan Smith, Adam Milne, Jacob Duffy, Matthew Fisher.
