With rain forecast for the rest of the week, the opening Test between India and New Zealand is likely to be disrupted.
Credit: DH Photo/SK Dinesh
Bengaluru: Just consider the magnitude of the challenge New Zealand face as they commence their three-Test series against India from Wednesday. India are on a six-Test winning spree and New Zealand have stacked up four losses in a row now.
Indian batters, despite their seniors' inconsistency, have been in their prime while a struggling New Zealand batting line-up is without the services of their best batter Kane Williamson who is racing against time to be fit in time for the second Test in Pune.
India also boast arguably the best attack in the world at the moment while New Zealand's bowling can at best be termed honest in these conditions. India are playing at home where they have won 18 series in a row while the Kiwis have failed to register a single series win in 12 visits to the country since 1955-56. Not to forget their recent 0-2 drubbing at the hands of Sri Lanka.
It's an unequal contest but India's six-Test winning streak is still under threat. And that's down to rain. While New Zealand, the former World Test Championship winners, make up for their lack of skills and dearth in resources for these conditions with loads of fighting spirit. For the opening Test here at the M Chinnaswamy stadium they also have the helping hand of rain.
The incessant downpour on Tuesday forced the cancellation of practice sessions of both teams and threatens to disrupt a significant portion of the game if forecast were to come true. A reduced play provides the tourists some level-playing field. But ask Bangladesh and they would agree that this Indian team is capable of manufacturing wins from seemingly hopeless situations.
Their extraordinary enterprise with the bat fetched them a remarkable win against Bangladesh in the Kanpur Test, which practically lasted two days due to a combination of rain, poor light and poorer maintenance of the ground. This is where the Indian team will be a lot less anxious insofar as the drainage system at the Chinnaswamy is concerned. They know play can resume within an hour after rain stops provided there is enough light.
While India will keep an eye on the skies, they would look to continue their refreshing brand of cricket that is aggressive without being reckless. Leading this genre of batsmanship are the young legs of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill, who is suffering a stiff neck, with Rohit Sharma setting the example though the Indian skipper would like to inject more consistency as would his contemporary Virat Kohli whose contributions have been thinning.
KL Rahul will get a few more chances in the middle but the stylish right-hander would need to come up with more meaty innings to keep the fierce competition at bay. His knocks in the second innings of the Chennai Test and the first innings of the Kanpur Test against Bangladesh gave enough indication that the Karnataka batter might have finally found his calling in the middle-order.
With the pitch under covers for almost two days due to persistent rain, there is a sense of unpredictability about its behaviour and the bowling combinations would be dictated based on the prevailing conditions. If overhead conditions remain cloudy, it's likely both teams will play three pacers and two spinners and you don't have to be privy to team management meetings to know who those five bowlers would be from the Indian camp.
The squads:
INDIA: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Jasprit Bumrah (Vice-captain), 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.
NEW ZEALAND: Tom Latham (Captain), Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Mark Chapman, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner, Rachin Ravindra, Tom Blundell (wk), Ajaz Patel, Matt Henry, Tim Southee, William O'Rourke, Jacob Duffy.