IND vs NZ 3rd Test Playing 11 & Toss: Santner, Southee, Bumrah Among Players Out as New Zealand Opt to Bat

New Zealand skipper Tom Latham won the toss and opted to bat first against India in the third and final Test of the three-match series, which is taking place at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Friday (November 1).

The Blackcaps made two changes to their playing 11 with one forced as Pune Test hero Mitchell Santner misses out due to a side strain, while Tim Southee has been rested. Ish Sodhi and Matt Henry are the two players coming in to an otherwise unchanged line up.

The hosts have opted to rest Jasprit Bumrah with the upcoming Border Gavaskar Trophy in mind. Mohammed Siraj, who played in the series opener in Bengaluru, returns to partner Akash Deep with the new ball.

Despite already sealing the series, New Zealand skipper Latham said every game is a new opportunity and his team are focussed on doing the job in the final match of the tour to India.

"Looks a reasonably good surface, hopefully put some runs on the board again and put a little bit of pressure later on. Definitely focusing on this game. We spoke about it before the second Test in Pune," Latham said at the toss.

"What we did in Bangalore was great, but we had to switch our focus quickly to that second Test and nothing changes. A new opportunity this game."

"We have tried to keep things simple and play our brand of cricket. We are hoping for more of the same this game. It's about adapting to the surface as quickly as possible," Latham added. "Mitch Santner has got a little bit of a side strain. Ish Sodhi comes in. Matt Henry is fit and he comes in for Tim Southee."

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma, meanwhile said: "We understand and accept that we haven't played well through the series. Gives us another opportunity to try and correct those things. Looks like a good pitch.

"Hopefully we can restrict them as quickly as possible and then focus with the bat. Our focus is on this Test match. We want to try and play well in this Test match.

"In the back of your mind, you need to look at what lies ahead, but it's important to stay in present, focus on what we need to to today and worry about all those things later. It's important that we play our best cricket which we haven't in this series. Unfortunately, Bumrah is not well, Siraj comes in for him."

India trail New Zealand 0-2 in the home Test series, and will be desperate for a win to go into the Tour Down Under with some confidence as they look to seal a third successive World Test Championship (WTC) final spot. Here is a look at the IND vs NZ 3rd Test Playing XI:

India vs New Zealand 3rd Test Playing 11

India XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj.

New Zealand XI: Tom Latham (captain), Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (wicketkeeper), Glenn Phillips, Ish Sodhi, Matt Henry, Ajaz Patel, William ORourke.