India and New Zealand are all set to square off in the third and final ODI of the three-match series at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore on Sunday,
January 18, 2026. The home team clinched the first ODI with a four-wicket win over the visitors. However, the BlackCaps bounced back strongly in the second ODI at Rajkot, as they secured a seven-wicket win, thanks to Daryl Mitchell's unbeaten ton and a solid knock by Will Young. For the decisive ODI, India made one change as they brought in left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh in place of Prasidh Krishna.
Toss Update
Hosts India won the toss and captain Shubman Gill elected to bowl first, citing the pitch being good and no expected rain in the match. Meanwhile, Black Caps entered the fray with the same team. New Zealand captain, Michael Bracewell, also stated the pitch looks favourable to batters and is excited to put up a tough fight and hopefully win the game.
Why did Prasidh Krishna miss out on playing in the 3rd ODI?
India pacer Prasidh Krishna was left out of the third ODI against New Zealand as part of a routine rotation. Arshdeep Singh, who had missed the first two matches, was drafted into the XI to gain match practice ahead of the upcoming five-match T20I series against New Zealand and the T20 World Cup next month.
What did the captains say?
Shubman Gill, India captain
We will bowl first. That's what we spoke (on the decision to bowl), batting first, New Zealand put us under pressure. One of the decisions we're bowling first is that the surface looks good, don't expect a lot of dew, runs on the board would let us chase better. Need to vary our lengths in the middle-overs, that's what we want to do. One change, Arshdeep comes in place of Prasidh
Michael Bracewell, New Zealand captain
We would have bowled first, but looks like a good batting pitch. It's a decider and an exciting opportunity for us to win our 1st ODI series here in India. They're getting used to international cricket and have made a good fist of it so far (on the new faces), but the pressure is on now and it's a good chance for them to play their best game. No changes from the last match
Playing XIs
India
Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (captain), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh
New Zealand
Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Hay (wicketkeeper), Michael Bracewell (captain), Zakary Foulkes, Kristian Clarke, Kyle Jamieson, Jayden Lennox
