It is not often that India finds themselves trailing in a Test series while playing at home. The last time, they lost the opening Test against at home was against England, however, they went on to win the series by 4-1. The hosts will look to make a similar comeback in the second Test match against the Kiwis at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune, which starts from Thursday onwards.
After India was blown away in the first innings of the Bengaluru Test, skittling out for their lowest ever Test score in home conditions – 46, it is expected that a low and slow pitch will be laid out in Pune with the help of black soil.
The strategy can also come back to bite the Indian team as it had done in the 2017 Pune Test against Australia when Steve O’Keefe had run through the Indian batting line-up on a rank-turner. Ajaz Patel, the left-arm orthodox spinner, can also do the same damage as he had bagged 10 wickets in the Mumbai Test in 2021.
Meanwhile, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma admitted he misread the Bengaluru pitch and thus decided to bat first instead of bowling upfront. The hosts also got their selection wrong as they played Kuldeep Yadav ahead of Akash Deep. New Zealand, on the other hand, played with three seamers, and their selection was spot-on as the trio bagged a total of 17 wickets.
Washington Sundar has been added to India’s squad and India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate has revealed that the off-spinner has been included, keeping the number of left-handers in New Zealand’s squad.
Kane Williamson has been ruled out of the second Test, which is a big blow for the visitors.
Match Prediction: India will enter the contest as favorites against New Zealand despite the loss in the opening Test.
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.
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