India vs New Zealand 2nd Test: The Indian team is currently playing a 3-match test series against New Zealand at home. Their second match will be played from today (October 24) at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune. This match will begin at 9:30 am. By winning the first test, the New Zealand team took a 1-0 lead in the series.
The Indian team, captained by Rohit Sharma, is deeply hurt by the defeat in the first match. If Rohit Brigade wants to make a comeback in the series against New Zealand, then he will have to pick the perfect 11 in the second match.
I have to go on tour in Australia next month.
The Indian team was out by just 46 runs in the first innings of the first Test match played in Bengaluru. He played well in the second innings, but despite this he had to face defeat by 8 wickets. The Indian team is currently at the top of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) points table, but due to the defeat in the first match they had to lose some points.
Before leaving on tour to Australia for the 5-Test series next month, the Rohit Sharma-led team’s priority will be to perform well in the next two matches against New Zealand. Furthermore, by winning the current series, we will have to achieve a strong position in the WTC.
A useful speech for spinners is being prepared
The pitch at the MCA Stadium in Pune has been prepared keeping in mind the situation in India. It is grassless and has been prepared with black soil, on which New Zealand’s fast bowlers do not bounce like they do in Bengaluru.
New Zealand fast bowlers William O’Rourke, Matt Henry and Tim Southee had troubled the Indian batsmen a lot in the first match. In such a situation, India can prepare grounds for change, but in the past this measure has also proven counterproductive. Australia had defeated India by 333 runs on a turning wicket here 8 years ago. This same team had defeated the Indian team by 9 wickets in the match played in Indore last year.
Who will be left out for Gill, Rahul or Sarfaraz?
Shubman Gill is all set to return. While one of KL Rahul and Sarfaraz Khan will have to free up space for him. Head coach Gautam Gambhir is in favor of giving more opportunities to Rahul, but Sarfaraz reinforced his claim by scoring 150 runs in the second innings in Bengaluru.
India will expect big innings from senior batsmen Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Kohli had played an unbeaten innings of 254 runs against South Africa in the 2019-20 season and he would like to take inspiration from that and play a great innings.
The Indian team management may be favoring Rahul, but the batsman has been struggling to score runs for some time now. On the other hand, Sarfaraz, after scoring an unbeaten 222 runs for Mumbai in the Iranian Cup, played a brilliant innings of 150 runs despite all the adverse conditions in Bengaluru.
Indian team also has bowling problems
Rishabh Pant kept the wicket for some time during Tuesday’s practice session and it remains to be seen whether he is fully fit for the second Test match or not. India’s problems are not limited to batting.
There are also some issues in his bowling. Especially the continued poor performance of fast bowler Mohammad Siraj remains a cause for concern. In such a situation, the team management may give a chance to Akashdeep, who also practiced batting vigorously on Tuesday.
If the pitch helps spin the bowlers, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja would like to make the most of it. Washington Sundar has also been included in the team. If he is included in the playing XI, it will strengthen India’s batting. As far as New Zealand is concerned, Rachin Ravindra made the difference by scoring a century in the first Test match, but his team would also expect useful contributions from other batsmen.
India-New Zealand teams for Test series:
Indian team: Rohit Sharma (captain), Jasprit Bumrah (vice-captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (goalkeeper), Dhruv Jurel (goalkeeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav , Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Washington Sundar
New Zealand team: Tom Latham (captain), Tom Blundell (week), Michael Bracewell (first 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 (second and third Test only), Tim Southee, Kane Williamson and Will Young.
