Auckland, Jan 24:  India skipper Virat Kohli on Friday won the toss and elected to field in the first T20I of the five-match series against New Zealand at the Eden Park.

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"We're going to have a bowl first. It looks a nice pitch to bat on. It might be hard to pick the ball up initially due to twilight. We're pretty much fine (from the travel) but we're fine now. We've played 50-over cricket (heading to this series) and are ready for T20 cricket," said Kohli.

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"The character to bounce back from difficult situations gives us an edge in alien conditions. We just got to come out and play with belief in our abilities," he added.

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson said: "It was a 50-50 decision with the track being used. We would want to get some runs on the board first and then defend it."

"It's a fantastic opportunity against one of the best sides, if not the best sides. It's a chance for us to become a better side and execute our plans," he added.

Playing XIs

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India: Rohit Sharma, Lokesh Rahul(w), Virat Kohli(c), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Shami

New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson(c), Tim Seifert(w), Ross Taylor, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Blair Tickner, Hamish Bennett

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Saurabh Sharma
Saurabh Sharma is the Editorial Head of Cricketnmore Hindi and a passionate cricket journalist with over 14 years of experience in sports media. He began his journalism career with Navbharat Times, part of the Times of India Group, before moving to television media with Sadhna News. In 2014, he joined Cricketnmore and currently serves as the editor of the platform.
Known for his deep understanding of cricket statistics and unique storytelling approach, Saurabh specializes in cricket news, match analysis, records, and feature stories. Along with editorial responsibilities, he also works as a show producer for popular cricket video series such as Cricket Tales, Cricket Flashback, and Cricket Trivia. Read More
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