"Kitne saal baad khel rhe h saath ye?" - Fans react as India pick Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav for 3rd ODI vs NZ

Team India have picked the celebrated spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal in their playing XI for the third ODI against New Zealand in Indore on Tuesday, January 24.

The hosts, who have already won the three-match series, made two changes to their playing XI for the dead rubber. Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami have been rested, with Chahal and young pacer Umran Malik drafted in.

Fans were ecstatic to see Kuldeep and Chahal back in the ODI side together. Since the 2019 ODI World Cup in England, the pair have played only two ODIs together, which came against Sri Lanka in July 2021.

It will be a great opportunity for them to demonstrate their skills, with the ODI World Cup lined up on home soil later this year.

Here are some of the reactions:

Kuldeep and Chahal have tasted tremendous success, bowling in tandem in ODIs. They have played 36 ODIs together, picking up 125 wickets combined.

Meanwhile, the Kiwis won the toss and decided to field first. Indian skipper Rohit Sharma reiterated that Team India wanted to bat first as they are not too worried about the conditions.

"We would have batted first as well, because we are not really worried too much about the conditions, and that mindset also gives us the opportunity to challenge ourselves under pressure," Rohit said at the toss.

"No doubt the no. 1 ranking thing is there for the taking if we win today, but the more important thing is to play good cricket more than anything else. We have two changes, Umran Malik and Yuzvendra Chahal come in for Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj," he added.

At the time of writing, India were 30/0 in 4.5 overs with Rohit and Shubman Gill batting.

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India and New Zealand Playing 11s

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Umran Malik, and Yuzvendra Chahal.

New Zealand: Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (c/wk), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, and Blair Tickner.

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