Watch: Ahmedabad crowd goes berserk after coin settles in IND vs NZ 3rd T20I toss, Hardik Pandya can't hide his emotions
The moment Hardik Pandya uttered the words, 'We're going to bat first,' the decibel levels in the stadium exploded as the India captain soaked in the priceless reaction of the crowd.
The third T20I between India and New Zealand is a homecoming of sorts for Hardik Pandya. It was at this very venue of the Narendra Modi International Stadium in Ahmedabad that Hardik led his Indian Premier League franchise, the Gujarat Titans to IPL glory less than a year ago, and today he is leading the Indian team against a very feisty BlackCaps unit with the series on the line. Hardik, who has been born and brought up in the city of Vadodara in Gujarat, received a rousing ovation when he won the toss and made his decision.
The moment Hardik uttered the words, 'We're going to bat first,' the decibel levels in the stadium exploded as the India captain soaked in the priceless reaction of the crowd. Once the dust settled, he went on, "Want to put some runs and take the game from there. Looks like a very good wicket, we played here in the IPL final where the ball did a bit more in the second innings. Tough on the batters in the last two games, but credit to them for the approach they have shown. This is what as a unit we strive for, we are going to get tested but we will learn from it. These kinds of knockout games teach you a lot."
Also Read: India vs New Zealand 3rd T20 Live Score
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India made one change from their Playing XI at Lucknow with Umran Malik returning to break the 'Kul-Cha' partnership as a much smoother pitch lies in store "One change - Umran comes in for Yuzi because this surface looks like it will help the fast bowlers," announced Hardik as India brace up for the third limited-overs international match in the world's largest cricket stadium.
New Zealand made one change of their own, with Ben Lister replacing Jacob Duffy in the XI. "We were going to bowl first, looks like a good surface either way. Lucknow was a challenging surface, maybe 120 would have done the trick. But we have to adapt. Great experience to play here, it is my first time here. Doesn't get any bigger than this with the series on the line. Both surfaces so far were very different, but today we need the boys to adapt to the bigger boundaries. This should be a good challenge," said NZ captain Mitchell Santner.
India Playing XI: Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan (Wicketkeeper), Rahul Tripathi, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (Captain), Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Shivam Mavi, Kuldeep Yadav, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh
New Zealand Playing XI: Finn Allen, Devon Conway (Wicketkeeper), Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (Captain), Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Ben Lister, Blair Tickner
