After sitting out four games, Siraj gets his chance; Yash Thakur makes debut

Mohammed Siraj

Mohammed Siraj finally got an opportunity in the series as India brought back the experienced pacer for the fifth and final ODI against New Zealand at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Sunday. It is Siraj's first appearance in the series.

He last played an ODI against the West Indies in October."Siraj has been craving an opportunity to play in all formats. He's been around the team for a while and is pretty experienced. He's played over the years, so he knows how to go about things. We're super excited for him as well," India captain Shreyas Iyer said at the toss.

New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner won the toss and elected to bowl in the series-deciding match. India lead the five-match series 2-1 after winning the first two games, while the third ODI was washed out.

The visitors, however, suffered a 244-run defeat in the fourth match on Friday.India also handed a debut to right-arm seamer Yash Thakur. "He's a jovial guy who has been waiting for the opportunity to play for the country and has been in the scheme of things for a while. I'm glad he's getting the opportunity to prove himself today. It's his debut, so good luck to him," Iyer said.

India's Gurnoor Brar and New Zealand's Matt Henry and Kyle Jamieson will miss the final ODI as they prepare for the two-Test series, which begins on November 19.

Teams:India: Rohit Sharma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Axar Patel, Naman Dhir, Auqib Nabi, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Yash Thakur.New Zealand: Tim Seifert (wk), Will Young, Nick Kelly, Dean Foxcroft, Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Kristian Clarke, Blair Tickner, Jacob Duffy, Matthew Fisher