India captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and chose to bowl first against New Zealand in the opening T20 international at Hagley Oval on Thursday.
The Indian team arrived in New Zealand only two days before the match, leaving little time for the players to adjust to local conditions ahead of a lengthy tour featuring five T20 internationals, five one-day internationals and two Test matches.
“We have no complaints,” Iyer said. “We're a band of professionals and everyone knows that in the dressing room.”
India made two changes to the side that played the fifth and final T20 international against the West Indies a week ago. Mayank Yadav replaced Prince Yadav, while Nitish Kumar Reddy came in for Shivam Dube.
India won the first and third matches of that series by eight wickets and 14 runs, respectively, but the West Indies bounced back on both occasions.
New Zealand selected four pace bowlers — Nathan Smith, Matt Henry, Adam Milne and Lockie Ferguson along with three spinners, Mitchell Santner, Michael Bracewell and Glenn Phillips.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Arshdeep Singh are expected to share the new ball for India.
The two sides last faced each other in the T20 World Cup final in India, where the hosts secured a convincing 96-run victory.