India will lock horns against New Zealand in the opening Test match at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru from Wednesday onwards. The Rohit Sharma-led team will aim to continue their home domination and get the job done against the Kiwis.
New Zealand, on the other hand, will need to bring their collective best to challenge the potent Indian team. The Kiwis recently suffered a 2-0 loss against Sri Lanka and they will look to turn the tables.
Meanwhile, India was comprehensive in their 2-0 win against Bangladesh but they will have a tougher job against the Blackcaps. The hosts will look to make the most of their home conditions and deliver as a unit.
Stats Preview:
India’s talismanic batter Virat Kohli needs 53 runs more to complete 9000 runs in Test cricket. He will become the fourth Indian batter after Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, and Rahul Dravid to get to the milestone.
Ravichandran Ashwin needs 77 runs to complete 3500 runs in the red-ball version. He also needs eight boundaries to reach 400 fours in Test format.
KL Rahul needs 31 runs to reach the 3000-run mark in the red-ball version.
Rishabh Pant needs 68 runs to complete 2500 runs in the Test format.
Glenn Phillips needs three runs to reach 500 runs in multi-day format.
Kane Williamson needs 119 runs to get to the milestone of 9000 runs. He will become the first New Zealand batter to achieve this feat.
Mitchell Santner needs 96 runs to reach the 1000-run mark in Test matches.
Matt Henry needs five wickets to complete 100 scalps in Test cricket.
India squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep.
New Zealand squad: Tom Latham (c), Tom Blundell (wk), 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.
