New Zealand bat first, hand debut to Mitch Hay

New Zealand opt to bat vs Sri Lanka

New Zealand won the toss and chose to bat first on what Mitchell Santner thought was a “good surface maybe a touch on the slower side”. With “no rain on the forecast”, Santner was more emboldened to bat first in the first T20I. Charith Asalanka said he would have batted first also.

Sri Lanka have not made changes to the XI that won their last T20I against West Indies. Slingers Matheesha Pathirana and Nuwan Thushara form the fast-bowling contingent, while Maheesh Theekshana, Wanindu Hasaranga, and Dunith Wellalage are the main spinners.

For New Zealand, who are fielding a severely depleted team at the tail end of a long South Asian tour, wicketkeeper-batter Mitch Hay is set to debut. Other lesser-known players in their ranks include seamers Zakary Foulkes and Jacob Duffy, and allrounder Josh Clarkson.

New Zealand: 1 Tim Robinson, 2 Will Young, 3 Mark Chapman, 4 Glenn Phillips, 5 Michael Bracewell, 6, Mitchell Hay (wk), 7 Josh Clarkson, 8, Mitchell Santner (capt.), 9 Ish Sodhi, 10 Zakary Foulkes, 11 Jacob Duffy

Sri Lanka: 1 Pathum Nissanka, 2 Kusal Mendis (wk), 3 Kusal Perera, 4 Kamindu Mendis, 5 Charith Asalanka (capt.), 6 Bhanuka Rajapaksa, 7 Wanindu Hasaranga, 8 Dunith Wellalage, 9 Maheesh Theekshana

Andrew Fidel Fernando is a senior writer at ESPNcricinfo. @afidelf