India, seeking to salvage some pride after losing the first two Tests of the series, made a solitary change to their playing XI for the third and final Test against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
With the World Test Championship (WTC) points and a place in the final on the line, India opted to field first after losing the toss to the visiting Black Caps. The only change for the hosts was the inclusion of seamer Mohammed Siraj in place of Jasprit Bumrah, who was ruled out due to a viral illness.
India captain Rohit Sharma acknowledged the team’s poor performance in the first two Tests, stating, “We accept that we didn’t play well this series. But this is an opportunity to correct that. Hopefully we can restrict them quickly.”
Meanwhile, New Zealand made two changes to their lineup, with Mitchell Santner and Tim Southee missing out due to injury. Matt Henry and Ish Sodhi replaced them in the playing XI.
New Zealand skipper Tom Latham explained their decision to bat first, saying, “Reasonably good surface. Want to put runs on the board and put pressure later on. Focusing on this game. That’s what we did in Pune after Bengaluru win too. But last week was last week. New opportunity this game.”
New Zealand ended India’s 12-year unbeaten run in home Test series, which had stretched back to 2012. India had won 18 consecutive Test series at home before the defeats in October.
