Mayank Yadav strikes on his return as India bowl first in search of a 4-0 sweep

India left out two of the players who won them the series in Wellington, put New Zealand in at Eden Park and struck inside the opening overs of the fourth T20I anyway

Shreyas Iyer won the toss in Auckland on Friday and chose to bowl, with India already 3-0 up and the five-match series long out of New Zealand's reach.

The decision was rewarded quickly. Mayank Yadav, recalled to the XI, had Tim Seifert caught by Prince Yadav for 3, and New Zealand were a wicket down inside the first two overs with Finn Allen and Daryl Mitchell left to rebuild.

India made two changes for a match that decides nothing but the margin, leaving out Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Bhuvneshwar Kumar and bringing in Mayank Yadav and Ishan Kishan.

Two changes with the series already won

Sooryavanshi's omission is the eye-catching one. He made 45 from 19 balls at the top of the order in Wellington on Tuesday and shared an opening stand of 133 that effectively settled the series.

Kishan comes back in his place, with Sanju Samson keeping wicket and Abhishek Sharma retained at the top. Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir and Axar Patel make up the middle order.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar's place goes to a second express option in Mayank Yadav, leaving Arshdeep Singh and Prince Yadav to share the new ball and the death overs between them.

Mayank Yadav strikes early

Seifert, opening alongside Allen, lasted five balls before driving to Prince Yadav at the end of a Mayank Yadav over.

Arshdeep operated from the other end as New Zealand picked their way through a cautious start, with Mitchell, unbeaten on 89 in Wellington, arriving before the powerplay was two overs old.

New Zealand turn to Nathan Smith

New Zealand made one change, Nathan Smith coming in for Kyle Jamieson, who took 2-45 in the defeat in Wellington.

The home attack has been depleted by injury. Lockie Ferguson and Matt Henry were both ruled out of the T20Is with low-grade tears, and Will O'Rourke withdrew from the series as a precaution while recovering from hamstring and calf trouble.

That has left Mitchell Santner leading a bowling group assembled in a hurry, with Adam Milne, Jacob Duffy and Matthew Fisher alongside Smith and the captain's own left-arm spin.

What Wellington did to the series

New Zealand have not been short of runs. They posted 198 for 3 in the third T20I, built around Mitchell's unbeaten 89, his highest score in the format, an 86-run stand with Allen (40 from 25) and an unbroken 75 with Bevon Jacobs, who finished 39 not out from 23 balls.

It was not enough. India reached 118 without loss inside the six-over powerplay and chased the target down in 13.2 overs, winning by six wickets with 40 balls to spare.

Abhishek Sharma made 113 from 38 balls with 10 sixes and seven fours, reaching his fifty from 15. "The plan was just get momentum for the team," he said afterwards.

New Zealand's own finish told the other half of the story: only 52 runs came from their last five overs, a total that looked defendable until India's openers treated it as a formality.

Eden Park and the Hamilton finish

Eden Park's square boundaries are among the shortest used in international cricket, and the ground has a long record of high scoring in the format.

India are hunting a 4-0 lead before the series closes at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Sunday. New Zealand are playing for a result that keeps the tour from ending in a whitewash.

New Zealand were 14 for 1 after two overs when this report was filed.

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