Rohit Sharma-led Indian cricket team is all set to face Tom Latham-led New Zealand cricket team for the first Test of the three-Test series, beginning 16 October at Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
For India, this test series is an opportunity to seal a spot in a third consecutive World Test Championship finals.
The New Zealand Test series will also help India prepare for a crucial Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia next month. According to stats, India have won a world record 18 home Test series in a row and haven’t lost a Test match since 2012-13.
On the contrary, New Zealand don’t have a record to boast in India, but can post a tough challenge to the hosts.
Will rain whitewash Bengaluru Test:
According to the Indian Meteorology Department (IMD), Bengaluru may experience heavy rains over the next few days.
On Tuesday morning, the Indian team’s practice on the eve of the match was washed out. The training session, slated for 11:15 AM, had to be cancelled following heavy rainfall since morning.
“Team India’s training session is cancelled due to rain,” read an official update from the BCCI.
AS per IMD’s prediction, the spell between October 14 and October 17 is expected to see plenty of precipitation, with a 70-90% chance of rain on Day 1 and Day 2 of the Test match. The met department also issued thunderstorm warnings and yellow alerts in parts of Karnataka
Earlier, the IMD’s Bangalore observatory already noted 72mm of rain in the first two weeks of the month, which is triple the amount experienced in September this year.
India likely playing XI for first Test against New Zealand:
Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
India vs New Zealand Test series: Squads
India’s squad for 3 Tests:
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, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep
Travelling Reserves: Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mayank Yadav and Prasidh Krishna
New Zealand’s squad for 3 Tests:
Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Mark Chapman, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner, Rachin Ravindra, Tom Blundell, Ajaz Patel, Ben Sears, Matt Henry, Tim Southee, William O’Rourke
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