India won the toss and decided to bat first against New Zealand in the fifth and final One-Day International (ODI) at the Westpac Stadium, Wellington.

Here is what the captains said:

Rohit Sharma:

“We are looking to bat first. Seems a good pitch, might have some moisture but we want to test ourselves in such situations. After the humiliating looss the other day, we want to put up a bigger show. We have three changes. MS Dhoni for DK, Shami for Khaleel and Vijay Shankar for Kuldeep. We had a few training sessions and it’s not like the guys haven’t been in such situations earlier. If we had got about 180-200 last game, things would have been different. We admit we made mistakes and boys are determined. ”

Kane Williamson:

“We were looking to have a bowl first, to take a bit out of it from the surface if possible. Obviously, it’s a good surface prepared for two games. We have just 1 change – Munro in for Guptill who is injured. There could be some shape early on and we need to capitalize on that.”

Preview:

While not much is at stake for either of the teams in the inconsequential fifth ODI, it will be a chance for both of them to prove their detractors wrong. While India will be desperate to show that the batting failure in 92 was a one-off, New Zealand will be keen to show that they are more than capable of coming up with performances like that in the previous game on a consistent basis. Almost everything had gone in New Zealand’s favour in the last game as they bowled out India for just 92 before chasing down the total easily.

The fourth ODI, nonetheless, extended the trend of one-sided games in the series. While India dominated the first three games to win the series, they were on the receiving end in the fourth. The fans will now be keen to see a close contest in the upcoming game. As far as the team combination is concerned, both the teams will have to make at least one change. While New Zealand will have to bring in another player to replace their injured opener Martin Guptill, some player will have to make way in the Indian team for the fit again MS Dhoni.

Playing elevens:

India:

Rohit Sharma(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni(w), Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Vijay Shankar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal

New Zealand:

Henry Nicholls, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson(c), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham(w), James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Colin de Grandhomme, Todd Astle, Matt Henry, Trent Boult