India ask New Zealand to bat first as unbeaten sides clash

INDIA captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to field against New Zealand in a mouth-watering clash between the two unbeaten teams in the ongoing 50-overs World Cup in Dharamsala on Sunday (22).

Twice champions India left out an injured Hardik Pandya and fellow all-rounder Shardul Thakur bringing in batter Suryakumar Yadav and seamer Mohammed Shami.

Rohit said India relished chasing on a track, where dew could make bowling difficult in the second innings.

"In training yesterday we thought dew came in early," Rohit said.

"It's a good pitch, shouldn't change too much."

Both teams have won all four of their matches in the tournament so far.

New Zealand, who are without regular skipper Kane Williamson, fielded the same team that beat Afghanistan in their previous match.

"We would've bowled first as well due to the dew," stand-in skipper Tom Latham said.

"We have built a bit of momentum and we have tried to apply our game plan.

"We want to adapt as quick as we can to these new conditions."

Teams: India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah

New Zealand: Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Tom Latham (captain), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult

(Reuters)