New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson has been ruled out of the 4th T20I against India in Wellington due to an injury to his left shoulder. Kiwi fast bowler Tim Southee is leading the side in Williamson’s absence in the match that is being held at the Sky Stadium. They are 0-3 down in the five-match series and will be looking for a win here to salvage some pride.
Williamson sustained the injury while diving in the third T20I that was held at Hamilton against India. He is expected to be fit for the next game.
Meanwhile, the hosts have won the toss and have opted to field first in the fourth T20 International. They made two changes in their playing 11, with Tom Bruce replacing out of form Colin de Grandhomme, and Daryl Mitchell replacing Kane.
India, after winning the series, have opted to rest three regulars, giving chances to cricketers on the bench. Mohammad Shami, Ravindra Jadeja, and Rohit Sharma warm the benches, with Navdeep Saini, Washington Sundar, and Sanju Samson replacing the trio.
Kohli: We would have probably bowled first as well. This side (square boundary) is pretty short. Looks like a good track as Tim mentioned, should stay good throughout but the only factor you could consider is wind. It’s a matter of coming out and executing our plans. We spoke in the team meeting about how good a game that was. We haven’t had a game like that in a while. Either we’ve had easy victories or quite one-sided losses. For us as aside, it was a massive confidence booster. The team is playing so amazingly well. It’s just an opportunity for the guys who are gonna play this game and the next one to take the momentum forward. We have rested Rohit, Shami, and Jadeja. Sanju Samson is going to open the innings with KL Rahul. Washington Sundar and Saini are in. Three exciting additions to the squad, quite keen to see how they go.
Southee: We are gonna bowl first. It Looks a pretty good surface. Hopefully, it sort of skids on later on. Kane’s got a niggle in his shoulder. He dived and fell awkwardly in Seddon Park. I don’t think it’s major. He should be alright in a couple of days. We showed a lot of improvement from the two games at Eden Park. We need to keep improving, keep doing the small things right. It’s just small improvements. Tom Bruce comes in for CDG and Daryl Mitchell comes in for Kane.
Teams:
India (Playing XI): Sanju Samson, Lokesh Rahul(w), Virat Kohli(c), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Navdeep Saini
New Zealand (Playing XI): Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Tom Bruce, Ross Taylor, Tim Seifert(w), Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner, Scott Kuggeleijn, Tim Southee(c), Ish Sodhi, Hamish Bennett
