Is Ishan Kishan playing today's IND vs NZ match of 2023 World Cup?
Team India and New Zealand square off in the much-anticipated top-of-the-table clash of the 2023 World Cup in Dharamsala on Sunday.
Discussions in the build-up to the game revolved around who would replace the injured Hardik Pandya between Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan. While each duo had their respective cases to be included in the playing XI, the think tank has gone ahead with Suryakumar in place of Hardik at No.6.
It means that Kishan will miss his third consecutive game of the World Cup after featuring in the opening two matches in place of regular opener Shubman Gill.
The Indian skipper Rohit Sharma confirmed the news at the toss by stating:
"We'll bowl first. No reason, we were here training yesterday and felt a bit of dew comes in. Looks like a good pitch, we'll back ourselves to chase. Quite important to keep the momentum going, forget what happened in the past. Need to be at it all the time. This is one place everyone wants to come and play, beautiful weather and nice stadium. Hardik isn't available, so does Shardul. We've got Shami and Surya."
Following a three-ball duck on his World Cup debut against Australia, Ishan Kishan made amends with a well-made run-a-ball 47 against Afghanistan in India's eight-wicket win at Delhi.
The Indian skipper elected to bowl first, meaning the side will be chasing for a fifth time in as many games of this World Cup.
Apart from the Hardik and Suryakumar swap, India also made another change, replacing Shardul Thakur with speedster Mohammed Shami.
Team India will look to break their ICC events drought against New Zealand
Team India enter the New Zealand clash as favorites on the back of dominating wins against Australia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. However, they have historically struggled against the Blackcaps in World Cups and other ICC events.
While they trail the Kiwis 3-5 in ODI World Cups, the Men in Blue have not beaten the 2015 and 2019 finalists in an ICC event since 2003. During that time, India has suffered five consecutive defeats, three in T20 World Cups, and losses in the 2021 WTC final and 2019 ODI World Cup semi-final.
Ironically, India have beaten New Zealand only three times in 13 completed matches across ICC events, dating back to 1975.
However, Rohit Sharma and company can take solace from the fact they hammered the Blackcaps at home earlier this year with a clean sweep in the three-match ODI series.
The winner of this contest will also remain the only unbeaten team in the 2023 World Cup at the halfway stage. With all to play for, it remains to be seen if Team India can maintain their winning run and snap the drought against their nemesis in ICC events.