Tommorow is the day when India and New Zealand will lock horns with each other in the first Test of the series at Hyderabad.All the word had been said and now it is the time for real action.The match will take place at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium,Hyderabad.The ground has hosted only one Test so far which also included these two teams.The Test ended in a draw.
About Indian Team
Team Form
Currently, Indian team is not going through it's best form.They havn't won a single test in last five Test matches.The last match that India won was against West Indies in Nov 2011.Since then,India has drew one Test and lost four consecutive Tests.But the something to cheer for India is that the these Test were abroad.But at home,India has a pretty good record.They have won 6 out of last 10 Test matches with losing only one and rest were draw.We all know that It is really tough to beat India in India.
Batting Form
India has always relied more on their batting than bowling but with both Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman retired,the middle-order looks weak.There are choices in the form of Cheteshwar Pujara,S.Badrinath,Ajinkya Rahane and Suresh Raina but none of them is much experienced except Raina.Ajinkya Rahane has shown some temparament in Indian Premier League (IPL) but this is Test Cricket so he has very much to prove.Cheteshwar Pujara has played well in domestic cicruit but he has failed to do the same at the top level.So,the fight for the spot is between Raina and Badrinath but as we all know that Raina is an excellent fielder and also a good off spinner so he has more chances to make it to the final XI.At the top order Sehwag and Gambhir will have the responsibility to give India a good start and set a platform for next batsman's to come.Sachin Tendulkar is back in team after a break so he would be fresh hence,we can expect some good runs to come out of his bat.While Virat Kohli has proven his point in shorter formats of game it is his opportunity to prove the same in longer format of the game.
Bowling Form
In the bowling department,the responsibility to take wickets will be mainly on Zaheer Khan,Umesh Yadav and Ravichandran Ashwin.Ishant Sharma is also there but we all know he is back after his ankle injury after a long period of time so there is doubt whether he will play or not.There is a tough competition for second spinner spot between Pragyan Ojha and Piyush Chawla.It will be interesting to see who makes the final cut.
About New Zealand Team
Team Form
Like India, Kiwis are also not going through a good patch.They have lost their last series against West Indies.The also have a new coach for this series Mike Hesson replacing John Wright.They have weakness in both of their batting and bowling department.They have very much work to do if they want to do India a good fight in their home ground.
Batting Form
As we all know that Kiwi Captain has announced already that Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum will open the batting.He also said that playing of all-rounder James Franklin is also confirmed as this will give them an extra seam bowler.In the middle order, they have Kane Williamson and captain Ross Taylor himself.Kane Williamson had played some good innings in the past so they will be hoping for the same here also.Ross Taylor needs no introduction but he is also not in his best of the form.
Bowling Form
New Zealand is lacking exprience in their bowling section.Apart from Chris Martin,they don't have much experienced guys out there and as all us know that Daniel Vettori is not playing in this series,it will become more difficult them to restrict Indian batting line-up.In the absence of Vettori,Jeetan Patel will have take the responsibility of spin bowling as the other spinner in the side Tarun Nethula is yet to make his debut.Tim Southee can prove to be useful for them if he gets going in the series.
Final Verdict
Looking at the present scenario of both the teams one can easily say that India has an upper hand over the Kiwis.
Probable Teams
India
1.Virender Sehwag 2.Gautam Gambhir 3.Virat Kohli 4.Sachin Tendulkar 5.Suresh Raina 6.Subramanium Badrinath 7.M.S.Dhoni (c & wk) 8.Ravichandran Ashwin 9.Zaheer Khan 10.Umesh Yadav 11.Ishant Sharma/Pragyan Ojha
New Zealand
1.Martin Guptill 2.Brendon McCullum 3.Ross Taylor (c) 4.Kane Williamson 5.Daniel Flynn 6.James Franklin 7.Kruger van Wyk (wk) 8.Doug Bracewell 9.Tim Southee 10.Chris Martin 11.Jeetan Patel
About Indian Team
Team Form
Currently, Indian team is not going through it's best form.They havn't won a single test in last five Test matches.The last match that India won was against West Indies in Nov 2011.Since then,India has drew one Test and lost four consecutive Tests.But the something to cheer for India is that the these Test were abroad.But at home,India has a pretty good record.They have won 6 out of last 10 Test matches with losing only one and rest were draw.We all know that It is really tough to beat India in India.
Batting Form
India has always relied more on their batting than bowling but with both Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman retired,the middle-order looks weak.There are choices in the form of Cheteshwar Pujara,S.Badrinath,Ajinkya Rahane and Suresh Raina but none of them is much experienced except Raina.Ajinkya Rahane has shown some temparament in Indian Premier League (IPL) but this is Test Cricket so he has very much to prove.Cheteshwar Pujara has played well in domestic cicruit but he has failed to do the same at the top level.So,the fight for the spot is between Raina and Badrinath but as we all know that Raina is an excellent fielder and also a good off spinner so he has more chances to make it to the final XI.At the top order Sehwag and Gambhir will have the responsibility to give India a good start and set a platform for next batsman's to come.Sachin Tendulkar is back in team after a break so he would be fresh hence,we can expect some good runs to come out of his bat.While Virat Kohli has proven his point in shorter formats of game it is his opportunity to prove the same in longer format of the game.
Bowling Form
In the bowling department,the responsibility to take wickets will be mainly on Zaheer Khan,Umesh Yadav and Ravichandran Ashwin.Ishant Sharma is also there but we all know he is back after his ankle injury after a long period of time so there is doubt whether he will play or not.There is a tough competition for second spinner spot between Pragyan Ojha and Piyush Chawla.It will be interesting to see who makes the final cut.
About New Zealand Team
Team Form
Like India, Kiwis are also not going through a good patch.They have lost their last series against West Indies.The also have a new coach for this series Mike Hesson replacing John Wright.They have weakness in both of their batting and bowling department.They have very much work to do if they want to do India a good fight in their home ground.
Batting Form
As we all know that Kiwi Captain has announced already that Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum will open the batting.He also said that playing of all-rounder James Franklin is also confirmed as this will give them an extra seam bowler.In the middle order, they have Kane Williamson and captain Ross Taylor himself.Kane Williamson had played some good innings in the past so they will be hoping for the same here also.Ross Taylor needs no introduction but he is also not in his best of the form.
Bowling Form
New Zealand is lacking exprience in their bowling section.Apart from Chris Martin,they don't have much experienced guys out there and as all us know that Daniel Vettori is not playing in this series,it will become more difficult them to restrict Indian batting line-up.In the absence of Vettori,Jeetan Patel will have take the responsibility of spin bowling as the other spinner in the side Tarun Nethula is yet to make his debut.Tim Southee can prove to be useful for them if he gets going in the series.
Final Verdict
Looking at the present scenario of both the teams one can easily say that India has an upper hand over the Kiwis.
Probable Teams
India
1.Virender Sehwag 2.Gautam Gambhir 3.Virat Kohli 4.Sachin Tendulkar 5.Suresh Raina 6.Subramanium Badrinath 7.M.S.Dhoni (c & wk) 8.Ravichandran Ashwin 9.Zaheer Khan 10.Umesh Yadav 11.Ishant Sharma/Pragyan Ojha
New Zealand
1.Martin Guptill 2.Brendon McCullum 3.Ross Taylor (c) 4.Kane Williamson 5.Daniel Flynn 6.James Franklin 7.Kruger van Wyk (wk) 8.Doug Bracewell 9.Tim Southee 10.Chris Martin 11.Jeetan Patel
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