IND vs NZ, 2nd T20I 2026 Toss Report and Playing XIs: India Elect To Bowl; Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Replaces Ishan Kishan

India captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and elected to bowl first against New Zealand in the second Twenty20 International at Hagley Oval on Saturday. The primary development in the Indian camp saw young batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi handed a spot in the playing XI, replacing wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan. India are currently leading the 5-T20I series 1-0 against hosts New Zealand. Christchurch Weather Forecast and Rain Chances for India vs New Zealand 2nd T20I 2026.

Team Changes

Kishan was sidelined after sustaining a low-grade right adductor strain during India's series-opening victory earlier in the week. With Kishan unavailable, the team management opted to introduce Sooryavanshi into the top order, with Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson opening the innings. In a more tactical move, pacer Prince Yadav comes into the XI replacing Mayank Yadav from the 1st T20I.

The hosts, captained by Mitchell Santner, retained a formidable batting spine featuring Finn Allen, Daryl Mitchell, and in-form middle-order batter Glenn Phillips, who struck an unbeaten 82 in the opening encounter. As part of workload management, Black Caps made a solitary change brining in Jacob Duffy for Adam Milne.  Why Is Ishan Kishan Not Playing in IND vs NZ 2nd T20I 2026 Match?.

Winning the toss and chasing remains a consistent trend at Hagley Oval. With temperatures dropping into the evening, both sides anticipated that dew would play a notable role during the second innings, making conditions slicker for bowlers and fielders.

Playing XIs

India: Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav.

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

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 24, 2026 12:10 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).