India vs New Zealand 4th ODI: Shreyas Iyer leads a new-look India at a sold-out Bay Oval; Brett Randell in line for New Zealand debut

A sold-out Bay Oval at Mount Maunganui will watch a reshaped India try to close out the one-day series against New Zealand on Friday, 13 November. Shreyas Iyer leads the side in the India vs New Zealand 4th ODI, with Hyderabad batter Tilak Varma now in the squad, and the first ball is due at 7.30 am IST. India lead the five-match series 2-0 after the third game, at Hamilton on Tuesday, 10 November, was abandoned for rain without a ball bowled.

That washout settled one question: New Zealand can no longer win the series, and two wins at Bay Oval would only draw it at 2-2. India’s group for the last two matches was named by the BCCI on 30 October. Shubman Gill, KL Rahul and Anshul Kamboj, all part of the Test squad, drop out. Tilak, wicketkeeper Kumar Kushagra and pacer Yash Thakur come in, and Ishan Kishan is vice-captain. Hyderabad’s Mohammed Siraj stays in the squad.

A first cap in waiting for New Zealand

The home side have had to rebuild too. On Thursday, 12 November, New Zealand Cricket called up Central Districts seamer Brett Randell, 31, for both remaining games. He has never played for his country, though he has 145 professional caps and five New Zealand A appearances, and he has just come home from a summer of English county cricket with Derbyshire. Matt Henry, who missed Hamilton after a training collision, is back in the squad for this match, with Mitchell Santner still captain.

Five regulars, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Glenn Phillips and Nathan Smith, have already left for Wellington to get ready for the Tests. Lockie Ferguson is out with a calf tear. Allrounder Josh Clarkson joins for the final ODI on Sunday, 15 November, when Blair Tickner is also back after his seven-day stand-down. Head coach Rob Walter said the forecast for the weekend looked promising.

The crowd will be full. NZC said on Friday that both Bay Oval games had sold out, taking the tour to seven sell-outs in 10 white-ball matches, its best against a single visiting side. The previous mark was four of eight on India’s 2019 tour. The ground holds about 9,500.

Tests and Doha next

New Zealand named their Test squad on Wednesday, 11 November, with Latham as captain. The first Test runs from 19 to 23 November at the Basin Reserve in Wellington, and the second from 27 November to 2 December at Hagley Oval in Christchurch. Tilak has a different assignment. He flies to Doha to lead India A in the Rising Stars Asia Cup. His side open against Nepal on Friday, 20 November, and meet Pakistan A two days later.