Probable Playing XI: India vs New Zealand 3rd T20I
What's the story
With the India-New Zealand T20I series evenly poised at 1-1, the winner-take-all decider at Thiruvananthapuram's Greenfield stadium will make for an exciting contest. While India will look to do better than the Rajkot match, New Zealand will look to go home with a trophy. With the series on line, let's look at the possible changes to playing XI squads of both the sides.
Addition of a batsman?
India unlikely to stick with the same combination
Inclusion of two new comers- Shreyas Iyer, Mohammad Siraj, did not yield the expected results for the Indian side in the 2nd T20I. The team looked a batsman short in last match which could mean an additional batsmen could be brought in. India probable XI - Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Chahal, Bumrah.
Data
Indian team has not had consecutive losses in a while
The last time India lost back-to-back matches in any format was in January 2016, in Australia.
Same team
New Zealand to retain the winning squad
Why change what works? New Zealand could very likely retain the team that helped them level the series meaning we may not see Ross Taylor feature in the squad. NZ probable XI - Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson, Glenn Phillips, Tom Bruce, Henry Nicholls, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Trent Boult, Ish Sodhi.
Information
Rain could play a spoilsport
With heavy rains in Thiruvananthapuram, weather could play a spoilsport for the 3rd T20I decider. It is to be seen how the pitch turns out considering the stadium will host its first international after 29 years.