India vs New Zealand, First Test Preview: All eyes on Ajinkya Rahane as India’s ‘second string’ facing New Zealand

A captain battling an existential crisis, a veteran tempo about to be phased out and a white ball player trying to earn his streaks of red make for a remarkable combination in the league. Ajinkya Rahane’s second India aims to size an intrepid New Zealander in the First Test starting on Thursday. Rahane, with a rising career, is leading India for possibly the last time while 100-Test veteran Ishant Sharma will pray that young man Mohammed Siraj doesn’t push him. Shreyas Iyer is about to launch Test and wants to reaffirm ‘Bombay (not Mumbai)’ whose philosophy goes beyond the wealth of white balls in the Indian Premier League.

“Shreyas Iyer will make his debut but I cannot reveal anything about the combination,” captain Rahane confirmed before the match.

It is indeed rare to find an Indian Test team without a successful opening couple of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul. Also absent from the squad was captain Virat Kohli and the hit hitter Rishabh Pant.

But this also allows head coach Rahul Dravid a chance to test his bench strength before the away tour to South Africa begins in less than a month’s time.

In the batting lineup for the First Test, only Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara and Mayank Agarwal played more than 10 Tests. If Agarwal does well, it will keep KL Rahul and a good performance from Shubman Gill will make the team’s management interested in placing him in the center position when the two players open the scoring again.

In any sport the team leader is seen as someone with a guaranteed spot on the side but in this Indian team the captain hits the ball to save his career after an average of 19 out of 11 test match in the current season.

Two more defeats in two home games can be considered the end for Rahane. Even Dravid will find it difficult to justify putting Mumbaikar on a flight to Johannesburg next month.

Looking at Rahane’s net didn’t build much confidence. He tried an ugly push before Jayant Yadav’s vacation and was thrown clean. Prasidh Krishna has created an outer edge that should be regulating.

But it was terrifying to see netball pitcher Shivam Mavi make a perfect pitch and hit him in the chest. It’s never easy to take a side lead when your own batting form has abandoned you.

How Rahane strikes the balance in this Test between being a ruthless captain and also the one who beats his team expects him to be will determine the direction his career will take. from here.

If he plays the survival game against a happy Tim Southee or Neil Wagner, it can lead to downfall but as Pujara said, being “a little bit scared” will give him some relief. Huge force is on his shoulder to save him. job.

Similarly, for Ishant, the most senior player in the current lineup with 100+ and 300+ games, the situation is getting bleak day by day. He hasn’t been in good form throughout the live session and if Siraj is dropped from the 11th team, the sloppy high tempo player once again needs to prove that the team leadership’s decision was not one. farce.

However, Umesh Yadav is still the new top choice pitcher. Shreyas, who has had a pretty good record of holding the red ball but hasn’t played a long-term game since 2019, will be dropped from duty.

Dravid asked him to negotiate short pitches from left-wing specialist Nuwan to emulate Neil Wagner’s archery tactics.

A solid debut with an aggressive mindset could land them a long-term midfield spot. If someone follows the sign from the net, the string of hitters appears to be Gill and Mayank, followed by Pujara and Rahane.

Next up is Shreyas, who has confirmed that Surya will have to wait for his Test launch. While it is unknown if Axar Patel’s workload is being managed, Jayant Yadav has had a long time in the grid under Dravid’s supervision.

A midfield with three defensive players like Pujara, Rahane and believed to be Hanuma Vihari, will not be a great proposition when India play away from home in the coming days.

But one man, eager to go out there and reassert his status as world number one dialer will be Ravichandran Ashwin, who has been licking his wounds for the past few months after being repeatedly sneezed by captain Kohli. leprosy in the previous series.

His battle with a brilliant technician on par with Williamson will be a treat for the lovers of Test cricket but seasoned players like Ross Taylor, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls will be up to the challenge. Ashwin and Jadeja.

The third spinner is likely to be Axar Patel, who had a stellar series of home debuts against England (27 goals) as he put on the whites for the last time despite Jayant looking in good rhythm. .

For Black Caps, Tim Southee and Neil Wagner will be the two tempo drivers with the left-hand spin duo of Ajaz Patel and Mitchell Santner alongside outside spinner William Somerville capable of completing the attack.

India team (from): Ajinkya Rahane (captain), Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Wriddhiman Saha (week), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharmraj , Jayant Yadav, Srikar Bharat (2nd week) and Prasidh Krishna.

New Zealand (from): Kane Williamson (captain), Tom Latham (week), Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, Tom Blundell (week), Will Young, Glenn Phillips (week), Daryl Mitchell, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner, Kyle Jamieson, William Sommerville, Ajaz Patel, Mitchell Santner and Rachin Ravindra.

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The match starts at 9:30 am.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and was automatically generated from the feed provided.)