Iyer wins toss and opts to field in Christchurch as Reddy and Mayank return to India XI

India captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and elected to field against New Zealand in the first T20 international of a five-match series in Christchurch on October 22, 2026.

India made two changes to their playing XI from the final T20I against the West Indies.

Those changes saw all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy and Mayank Yadav included in the side.

Nitish Kumar Reddy and Mayank Yadav replaced Shivam Dube and Prince Yadav in the XI.

A photograph accompanying the report showed Shreyas Iyer warming up before the start of the first T20 international; Photo Credit: AFP.

India: Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh and Mayank Yadav.

New Zealand: Finn Allen, Tim Seifert (wk), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Bevon Jacobs, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Nathan Smith, Matt Henry, Adam Milne and Lockie Ferguson.

Published - October 22, 2026 12:21 pm IST; Updated - October 22, 2026 12:31 pm IST.

This match is the opening fixture of the five-T20I series, leaving four further T20 internationals to be played between the teams.