IND vs NZ, 1st Test: India looks to continue unbeaten home run against struggling New Zealand as rain threat looms

With India being unbeaten in a Test against New Zealand at home since 1988 and riding the high of 18 consecutive Test series wins in its backyard, little is likely to change.

India head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Rohit Sharma during a training session, ahead of the first test match between India and New Zealand at the M. Chinnaswamy stadium (KSCA), in Bengaluru. | Photo Credit: MURALI KUMAR K/The Hindu

It is not in-your-face, there are no geopolitical overtones or jingoistic advertising in its lead-up. Yet, the India versus New Zealand rivalry, if it may be termed so, has more feel to it than a contrived fixture in an ICC Future Tours Programme (FTP) that is bursting at the seams.

It’s largely owing to the lore of the Kiwis being the revered Men in Blue’s bogey team in ICC tournaments that have fed into the mystique of this match-up. When the three-match Test series between the sides begins at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Wednesday, India’s World Test Championship (WTC) final defeat in 2021 will most likely be the reference point if any semblance of antagonism is to be dredged up.

The summit clash of that inaugural edition of the WTC became a rallying point for the ‘nice guys can finish first’ narrative when Kane Williamson’s men lifted the mace. It seemed to mark an inflection point, in sport and pop culture, and perhaps even an overthrow of the established order.

Yet, one-and-a-half WTC cycles later, with just seven wins in 21 Tests since that title win, the Kiwis are languishing in the longest format. Meanwhile, the engine room of the sport, India, has propelled itself into the stratosphere.

On the brink of securing its third consecutive spot in the WTC final, India defied the elements and the clock to reset the template of Tests with an epochal eight-wicket win in Kanpur that completed a 2-0 sweep of Bangladesh. New Zealand, on the other hand, lost 37 of its 40 wickets to spin in a 0-2 series defeat in Sri Lanka.

While one is evolving at warp speed, the other seems to be stagnating and falling to its well-documented frailties. With India being unbeaten in a Test against New Zealand at home since 1988 and riding the high of 18 consecutive Test series wins in its backyard, little is likely to change.

The fact that Williamson, New Zealand’s top scorer in this WTC cycle and responsible for four of the five centuries to come off a Kiwi’s bat in the same period, will miss the first Test due to a groin injury will only add to the visitors’ woes.

At 31, a 16-Test-matches old Will Young will replace Williamson at No. 3, while Rachin Ravindra will be expected to do the bulk of the scoring in his 10th Test match. Moreover, the 32-year-old opener Tom Latham will front up as full-time captain and become the third skipper in the format in less than two years, taking over from an out-of-form Tim Southee, who will be tasked with blooding in a fledgling pace unit. All these point to a bungled succession plan.

Since Ravindra made his Test debut at Kanpur the last time the Kiwis toured India in 2021, only five New Zealand players have earned the Test cap. Shreyas Iyer made his Test debut in the same game, and India has handed 11 caps in the same period. As many as five of those came in the series against England earlier this year, of which three have retained their spots for two consecutive series that followed. Surely, the wheels are in motion for a much smoother transition.

Still, New Zealand can throw the odd curveball, in its distinctly unpresuming manner – be it the miraculous draw at Kanpur in 2021 when Ravindra and Ajaz Patel’s 52-ball vigil saved the day, or the latter’s 10-wicket innings haul in a losing cause in the following game.

The duo will once again be vital if New Zealand is to be competitive, with Ravindra moving up the order as the No. 4 mainstay and Patel emerging as the spin-bowling leader.

New Zealand’s Man Friday Glenn Phillips, who has admirably transitioned from being a wicketkeeper-batter to a middle-order basher, and now a potent threat with his off-spin, will need to stretch his repertoire.

On the other hand, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin, despite their astonishing all-round skills, are still conventional all-rounders and won’t need to replicate Phillips’ extent of daredevilry.

A solid top-six batting line-up, and the well-oiled pace trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep will balance the responsibilities. India, though, will be fretting over Shubman Gill’s fitness, who reportedly suffered from a stiff neck on match eve and could make way for Sarfaraz Khan.

Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal need no invitation to set the tempo at the top, but how Virat Kohli and KL Rahul, who have a deep connection with the city for different reasons, steer the middle-order will be closely watched.

While the Indian middle-order’s recent struggle against spin isn’t the best kept secret, New Zealand could be tempted to attack through a three-pronged pace unit, especially with the large frame of William O’Rourke, at six feet four inches, in its ranks.

New Zealand’s William O’Rourke at training session ahead of the first test match between India and New Zealand. | Photo Credit: MURALI KUMAR K/The Hindu

O’Rourke impressed with his nose-and-toes lengths in placid conditions in Sri Lanka and can take the pitch out of the equation, much like Kyle Jamieson used to. With pacer Ben Sears ruled out of the series on the eve of the match, and his replacement Jacob Duffy linking up with the squad only on Wednesday, New Zealand could have three quicks to choose from at the toss.

With persistent rain in the city over the past three to four days keeping the clay-soil pitch under covers, the conditions could favour the pacers on the opening day, if play is even possible.

If not, it would be an interesting session of rain-watching for two very disparate sets of players. India’s ensemble cast of superstars would be itching to take the field, while New Zealand’s bunch of method actors, sincere to their art, would hope to use the interruption to finetune their skills.

On match eve, India had cancelled its practice due to heavy showers, while the Kiwis took to the indoor nets to warm up for the challenge.