India vs New Zealand 5th ODI: Yash Thakur makes debut, Siraj returns as NZ elect to bowl

New Zealand elected to bowl against India in the fifth ODI series decider at Mount Maunganui. India handed fast bowler Yash Thakur his debut, while Mohammed Siraj returned to the playing XI as both teams targeted a series victory.

Mount Maunganui: New Zealand have won the toss and elected to bowl first against India in the ODI series decider at Bay Oval on Sunday. India have handed fast bowler Yash Thakur his debut cap, while Mohammed Siraj has been included in the playing eleven.

India are targeting a maiden away ODI series triumph under head coach Gautam Gambhir, while New Zealand are aiming to prevent their first home bilateral 50-over series defeat in seven years.

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Thakur has played four T20Is for India and is coming in for Gurnoor Brar, who has joined the Test team for preparations in Wellington.

Siraj, meanwhile, replaces left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav. “He (Thakur) is a jovial guy who has been waiting for the opportunity to play for the country and has been in the scheme of things for a while. I’m glad he’s getting the opportunity to prove himself today. It’s his debut, so good luck to him.

“Obviously, Siraj has also been craving an opportunity to play in all formats. He’s been around the team for a while and is pretty experienced. He’s played over the years, so he knows how to go about things. We’re super excited for him as well,” said India captain Shreyas Iyer.

Asked on their recovery after the fourth ODI, where India were bowled out for 89 and suffered a heavy 244-run loss, Iyer said, “We were also waiting for this opportunity for the first time, but we saw how the ball was staying pretty straight when they were batting and wasn’t seaming that much. So, that’s a good sign and gives us confidence about batting first as well.

“It was crucial for us to recover as much as possible, especially after fielding for 50 overs and getting out a bit early, which was quite disappointing. But that also reflected a bit on how we would be going today, so we’re in high spirits.”

New Zealand will play the fifth ODI without pacers Matt Henry and Kyle Jamieson, who have joined the Test team. Captain Mitchell Santner, who finally won a toss in the multi-format series, said Blair Tickner and Jacob Duffy have come into the playing eleven.

“I am not sure of that, didn’t expect to win. We’re going to bowl. The pitch still looks all right, and there are supposed to be a few showers later on, possibly with a bit of dew as well, so we’ll see how it goes. It was pretty relaxed. With the late finishes and everything, it was a good day to recover and get ready for another big game today.

“Obviously, Matt Henry and Kyle have gone to join the guys for Test preparation. It was nice to get six overs out of KJ. We’ve got Duffy and Tickner coming back in, who are also great bowlers. So, it’s a similar combination with four seamers again.

“With the schedule and everything going on, you have to rotate the players around a little bit. It gives guys opportunities, which is cool. It’s a World Cup year as well, so we’re building the depth of our bowling stocks, and the guys have come in and performed straight away, which is always nice,” he said.

Playing XIs

India: Rohit Sharma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (captain), Ishan Kishan (wk), Axar Patel, Naman Dhir, Auqib Nabi, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, and Yash Thakur

New Zealand: Will Young, Tim Seifert (wk), Nick Kelly, Dean Foxcroft, Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (captain), Kristian Clarke, Blair Tickner, Jacob Duffy, and Matthew Fisher