Kolkata : India are set to host New Zealand in 3 Match Test Series starting from October 16 to November 1.
Both the teams are coming from contradicting forms in this series, but eye on one goal – The World Test Championship 2025 Final spot.
On one hand, India, dominant in home condition having won every Test Series since 2013 at Home, whitewashed Bangladesh 2-0 in their previous Test Match.
While, on the other hand, Sri Lanka whitewashed the Black Caps 2-0 in their previous Match.
The Test will be a new journey for New Zealand as Tom Latham will replace Tim Southee as the Test skipper.
However, signs of doubts over star Batter Kane Williamson prevails , as he’s most likely to be ruled out following a groin injury.
Kiwi all rounder Rachin Ravindra, in a press conference gave an update, saying, “We’re not sure. I guess he (Williamson) will play it by ear. Some news will come out soon enough”.
Head to Head
The India vs New Zealand Test head-to-head record favours the former. India have won 22 of the 62 Tests that they have played against New Zealand. The Kiwis have registered 13 victories over India in Test cricket. As many as 27 matches have ended in draws.
The last time these two sides met in cricket’s longest format, India secured a 1-0 win in a two-match Test series in 2021.
Time :
9:30 am IST.
Venue :
Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
Pitch Conditions :
Chinnaswamy is widely recognized for it’s flat deck. However, in the 1st Test, the conditions are more likely to remain gloomy for atleast 3 days, therefore, the role of pacers can be very important in that case.
Indian Head coach Gautam Gambhir said regarding the conditions, “It (combination) depends on conditions, wicket and opposition. The best part about this dressing room is that we’ve got so many high-quality players and we can select any of them. We know they can do the job for us. That is what is called the depth. We’ll have a look at the wicket tomorrow. We’ll have a chat and see what is the best combination to do the job at the Chinnaswamy Stadium”.
“Obviously we’ve got a lot of quality, not only Kuldeep Yadav, but we’ve got a lot of other quality bowlers in the squad. I’ve said it before as well that we don’t leave anyone out. We only select the playing 11 who can do the job for us,” said Gambhir without closing the option of an extra spinner alongside Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
Keeping the spin factor in mind that makes India a dangerous team at home, Rachin Ravindra said, “I think traditionally Bangalore is a little bit less turning (pitch). You see a lot of fast bowlers taking wickets here. It might not be as turning as what we might expect in Mumbai”.
“It might not turn on the first, second day, but may be on the third, fourth or fifth day. It’s important for us to play what’s in front of us and not come into this game with preconceived notions. We know what Test cricket in India is. We know the quality of the Indian fast bowling set-up too. So, it’s not like they’re just going to produce a rank turner,” he said.
New Zealand coach Gary Stead opened up on playing 3 seamers on the Bengaluru conditions. He said, “going on past conditions here, I think the decision for us to make will be whether we play three seamers, or just the two.”
“It’s interesting. When you look at the last series that India have just played, against Bangladesh – albeit not at this ground – they have played three seamers in their own conditions, so that’s a possibility.”
Squads
India Test squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Jasprit Bumrah (vice-captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dhruv Jurel (wicket-keeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep.
Travelling Reserves: Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mayank Yadav and Prasidh Krishna
New Zealand Test squad: Tom Latham (captain/wicket-keeper), Tom Blundell (wicket-keeper), Michael Bracewell (1st Test only), Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Will O’Rourke, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ben Sears, Ish Sodhi (2nd and 3rd Test only), Tim Southee, Kane Williamson, Will Young
India, are likely to go with their strong combination that they played against Bangladesh.
Despite Mohammad Siraj’s dip in form, pacers like experienced Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Deep have regularly gave big breakthroughs to India at crucial points of time. The iconic duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Ravi Ashwin also took clusters of wickets to rattle opposition Batting order. Although India played only 2 spinners and 3 seamers, conditions can play a big factor in changing the combination.
Although skipper Rohit Sharma had failed to convert good starts to big scores, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Risabh Pant, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli have been in good touch.
For New Zealand, pacer William O’Rourke showed sublime form against Sri Lanka along with Ajaz Patel, picking 8 wickets each. Patel also set the record of picking up 10 wickets in an innings in the last outing against India in 2021 Test series, becoming 3rd bowler to do so. Tim Southee’s lack of form and considering the fact that he’s not the captain anymore, can be replaced by in form pacer Matt Henry.
In Williamson’s probable absence, Skipper Tom Lathan, Glenn Phillips, Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell need to play big roles especially against Indian spinners.
The 1st Test will start from October 16, with India eyeing for an official qualification to ICC World Test Championship 2025 final spot.
