India and New Zealand will clash in the first of the three-match T20I series in the Westpac Stadium in Wellington on Feb 6.

Indian team has already won the ODI series 4-1 and now have a chance to better their record in T20Is against New Zealand. The two teams have engaged in nine T20I matches and India has managed to win just two of them. They have played three T20Is in New Zealand and have not won any match.

Indian team is expected to be led by Rohit Sharma, given that Virat Kohli has been rested for the series. Meanwhile, New Zealand will miss the services of Martin Guptill, who is out with a back injury. Mohammad Shami has also been rested for the T20I series.

India is coming off a brilliant limited overs tour of Australia and with the recent series win in ODIs over the Kiwis, the visitors have all the momentum they need to triumph in the series.

India will also receive the services of Rishabh Pant in the T20Is, who will be eager to performance and earn his place in the 2019 World Cup squad.

New Zealand, on the other hand, will be eager to forget the drubbing they received in the ODI series and move on, since they can get encouragement from their T20I record against India. New Zealand won 2-0 win in 2008-09 in the sole bilateral series played on New Zealand soil till date. The Black Caps edged India 1-0 in a two-match away series.

It will be interesting to see what rookie all-rounder Daryl Mitchell and pacer Blair Tickner do in their debut series.

Toss: 

India have won the toss and have opted to field

Playing XIs:

India : Rohit Sharma(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, Vijay Shankar, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni(w), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, K Khaleel Ahmed

New Zealand: Colin Munro, Tim Seifert(w), Kane Williamson(c), Ross Taylor, Daryl Mitchell, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Scott Kuggeleijn, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson

INDIA: