Wellington: New Zealand stand-in skipper Tim Southee won the toss and elected to field first in the fourth T20I here on Friday.
Kiwi regular skipper and star batsman Kane Williamson was ruled out ahead of the game due to a shoulder injury with Daryl Mitchell replacing him.
With the five-match series in the bag with an unassailable 3-0 lead, India opted for three changes resting vice-captain Rohit Sharma, Mohammed Shami — both stars in India’s Super Over win the last game — and Ravindra Jadeja with Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar and Navdeep Saini coming in.
“We would have bowled first as well. We have rested Rohit, Shami and Jadeja. Samson to open, Washington and Saini are in. Three exciting additions to the side,” Kohli said at the toss.
“Looks like a good wicket. Kane’s got a niggle on his shoulder. He should be fine in a couple of days. We need to keep improving. Tom Bruce comes in for Colin de Grandhhome and Daryl Mitchell comes in for Kane,” Southee said.
New Zealand (Playing XI): Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Tom Bruce, Ross Taylor, Tim Seifert(w), Mitchell Santner, Scott Kuggeleijn, Tim Southee(c), Ish Sodhi, Hamish Bennett, Daryl Mitchell
India (Playing XI): Sanju Samson, Lokesh Rahul(w), Virat Kohli(c), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Navdeep Saini
