New Delhi: Indian skipper Virat Kohli won the toss decided to bat first in the opening encounter of the three-match ODI series against New Zealand at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai.
Hardly challenged in a dominating run this season, India will once again start overwhelming favourites when they take on an inconsistent-but-gritty Kane Williamson led side.
New Zealanders will bank on their senior-most batsman and former captain Ross Taylor, who scored a cracking century at the Brabourne Stadium against the Indian Board President's XI in their second practice game.
Shikhar Dhawan, who was drafted in the 15-member squad after missing the entire Australia series due to personal commitments, will opening innings for India with Rohit Sharma. While, Dinesh Karthik comes in for Manish Pandey and will bat in the formidable middle order.
Squad: India XI: Virat Kohli(C), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (WK), Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah