Ahmedabad, March 8 (IANS) New Zealand have brought in pacer Jacob Duffy in place of off-spin bowling all-rounder Cole McConchie as captain Mitchell Santner won the toss and elected to bowl first against unchanged India in the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup final at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday.

India are chasing a record third Men’s T20 World Cup crown, while New Zealand are eyeing their maiden title. Victory for India would also make them the first team to win back-to-back editions and the first to lift the trophy on home soil. Interestingly, New Zealand have won all of their matches in this World Cup while chasing.

After winning the toss, Santner said, “The pitch looks pretty good. We will see if it does anything and try to restrict them to a chasable score. Boys are good. This is why we are playing. It did. Great occasion, the semifinal, and the guys will take confidence from that. This is the biggest stage, and everyone is ready.”

India also has challenges aplenty – they have never beaten New Zealand in a Men’s T20 World Cup game, while their last two ICC white-ball defeats came in Ahmedabad – the 2023 ODI World Cup final loss to Australia and a Super Eights loss to South Africa earlier in this tournament.

With Suryakumar announcing an unchanged playing eleven for the title clash, it also means wrist-spinner Varun Chakaravarthy retains his spot after questions rose over him playing in Ahmedabad after being expensive since the Super Eights.

“Happy to bat first since we have been doing that pretty well. Always good to have runs on the board in the semifinal or a final. It’s history now, a new World Cup, and we are excited for it. It looks full already, and it’s only toss time, and hopefully we will give them a good show,” he said.

In their pitch report, Ian Bishop and Eoin Morgan said the pitch is a mix of red and black soil and is expected to play evenly. Square boundaries are at 70m and 68m, while 72m is the boundary straight down the ground. With anti-dew spray in place, it is likely to keep conditions stable through the match.

They also noted a light grass cover with a green tinge may aid swing and seam early, but the pitch is set to favour batting, and spinners are unlikely to find much assistance. Previously, a sea of fans in blue were treated to musical performances from celebrated musicians Falguni Pathak, Sukhbir, and Ricky Martin.

Playing XIs:

India: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah

New Zealand: Tim Seifert (wk), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner (captain), Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Jacob Duffy

–IANS

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