IND vs NZ first ODI: India opts to bowl against New Zealand

Captain Shubman Gill with his New Zealand counterpart Mitchell Santner post with the trophy on the eve of the first ODI in Auckland. | Photo Credit: PTI India captain Shubman Gill opted to field with the visitors including four specialist fast bowlers with a collective experience of 29 games in the first ODI against New Zealand in Auckland on Wednesday (November 4, 2026).There was no Mohammed Siraj in the line-up with Anshul Kamboj, Auqib Nabi, Gurnoor Brar and Arshdeep Singh set to share the bowling responsibilities.Spin-bowling all-rounder Naman Dhir was preferred over seam-bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy.TeamsNew Zealand: Tim Seifert, Will Young, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (w), Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner (c), Nathan Smith, Kyle Jamieson, Jacob Duffy, Blair TicknerIndia: Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul (w), Naman Dhir, Anshul Kamboj, Auqib Nabi, Gurnoor Brar, Arshdeep Singh. Published - November 04, 2026 07:49 am IST