IND vs NZ: India lost the opening Test against New Zealand at Bangalore, as there was a huge set of records being dismantled during the fixture at Chinnaswamy. India lost the match which broke their unbeaten home test record at home since they lost the last test against England last year at Hyderabad.
Also, New Zealand went on to secure their third victory against the Indian team in away tests, while this also marked New Zealand’s first test victory in India breaking the jinx of 36 long years, with the last test win back in 1988.
After the loss in the first Chinnaswamy test, in the post-match interview, Rohit Sharma went on to make a bold claim that portrayed his confidence as the skipper of the Team who is placed on the top of the WTC table.
Rohit Sharma said the team would look to make a return in the series just like they made the comeback after losing the first test against England a year ago.
The bounce back is not child’s play, and it seems evident from the Indian dressing room, with the likes of Shubman Gill and Akash Deep gearing up for a probable return in the second Test at the Maharashtra Cricket Stadium.
The in-form batter Shubman Gill came back from a stunning hundred in the final Bangladesh series, but could not feature in the first test as he was ruled out due to an injury to his neck. His replacement Sarfaraz Khan dominated in the first test with a 150.
Gill was recently seen practising at the Chinnaswamy outdoors after the first test ended early on Day 5. Gill seems recovered and might be looking forward to making his comeback into the red-ball side. Alongside the veteran star, India’s new red-ball pace sensation Akash Deep is seen in the nets.
“Anyone who gets an opportunity will have to try and make an impact. It’s always nice to have players waiting. It was unfortunate that Shubman missed the game but Sarfaraz took this chance,” Rohit was quoted from the press conference (RevSportz).
Akash Deep might be uncertain about the test return after the management decided to drop him to feature an extra spinner. While the Pune track is often spinner-friendly, the likely return of Akash Deep might be under doubt, his only probable return might be if Siraj is rested from the side.
Amid all Washington Sundar has returned to the test squad for the upcoming First Test, as India looks to increase quality in their spin bank alongside helping better batting options.
Though Sarfaraz has largely been lauded by the Indian coach Gambhir as well for his performance hence even if Gill makes a comeback, KL Rahul’s position in the squad might be threatened.
However, the most interesting video on the internet that has raised eyebrows, marks Mohammad Shami bowling in the nets to assistant coach Abhishek Nayar.
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