Get all the team news from the coin toss ahead of the World Cup semi-final between India and New Zealand
India, NZ change line-ups for World Cup semi
New Zealand have won the toss and elected to bat first in their World Cup semi-final against India in Manchester.
Williamson called tails correctly and said runs on the board were important despite the overcast and muggy overhead conditions that led a school of thought that the Kiwis might have bowled first.
India captain Virat Kohli said he would also have liked to bowl first.
The Black Caps made one change to their side with speedster Lockie Ferguson, New Zealand's leading wicket-taker at this tournament, returning to the XI in place of Tim Southee after he missed the final group stage game against England.
India also made one change with Yuzvendra Chalal back in for Kuldeep Yadav, opting to stick with Bhuvneshwar Kumar ahead of Mohammad Shami in their pace attack that will be led by Japsrit Bumrah.
Batting first has become an increasingly successful tactic at the World Cup in general and at Old Trafford in particular; in all five previous games on the ground, the team batting first has won.
India, whose group match against 2015 runners-up New Zealand was washed out, have suffered just one defeat at this World Cup so far, against England, and topped the 10-team group table.
Opener Rohit Sharma became the first batsman to score five centuries in a single World Cup when he made 103 in a seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka on Saturday, while fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has been the spearhead of a well-balanced bowling attack.
India captain Virat Kohli said Monday the pressure of being overwhelming favourites was nothing new for a squad who have long shouldered the hopes of a nation of more than a billion.
And he suggested that might give them an edge over the Black Caps at Old Trafford.
"The Indian team always carries a lot of expectation and pressure whenever we play," Kohli told reporters.
"We are quite used to that over the years. We are better equipped to react in these situations because we know what these kind of games and our fan base and the expectations bring."
The Black Caps, who only qualified for the semi-finals in fourth place on the basis of net run-rate, have lost their last three games, against Pakistan, holders Australia and England.
"We definitely deserve to be here," New Zealand captain Kane Williamson said at his pre-match press conference.
"Although we've qualified fourth we've got as equal an opportunity as anybody else."
New Zealand XI: Martin Guptill, Henry Nicholls, Kane Williamson (c), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham (wk), Jimmy Neesham, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitch Santner, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult.
India XI: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (c), Rishabh Pant, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah.