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Team India dropped Yuzvendra Chahal for the third T20I against New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Wednesday, February 1. Young pacer Umran Malik replaced the leg-spinner in the playing XI.
Chahal enjoyed a stellar outing in the second T20I in Lucknow, returning with figures of 1/4 in two overs. He provided the first breakthrough, dismissing Finn Allen in the powerplay to set the tone for India's dominance.
However, fans were shocked to see Hardik Pandya and Co. leave out the leg-spinner to accommodate Malik. Many slammed the think tank for pushing Chahal out of the T20I set-up. Some, on the other hand, feel that dropping Chahal will hamper his rhythm.
Here are some of the reactions:
Meanwhile, India won the toss and decided to bat first at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Explaining his decision, Hardik stated that they wanted to post a big total to put the pressure on New Zealand.
"We're going to bat first," Hardik said at the toss. "Want to put some runs and take the game from there. Looks like a very good wicket, we played here in the IPL final where the ball did a bit more in the second innings.
"Tough on the batters in the last two games, but credit to them for the approach they have shown. This is what as a unit we strive for, we are going to get tested but we will learn from it."
India and New Zealand Playing XIs
New Zealand: Finn Allen, Devon Conway (wk), Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Ben Lister, and Blair Tickner.
India: Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan (wk), Rahul Tripathi, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (c), Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Shivam Mavi, Kuldeep Yadav, Umran Malik, and Arshdeep Singh.
