Rohit Sharma's team will travel to the Wankhede Stadium on Friday to play the third and final Test against New Zealand in an effort to redeem themselves after a New Zealand team managed to secure two Test victories in India for the first time in decades and has compromised both their reputation and impressive home record.
Winning here would be important, not just for improving the position in the World Test Championship but also to make them feel a lot more confident before this huge and long test series in Australia, wherein India will play five Tests after a long interval.
For India, avoiding a 3-0 whitewash at the hands of a side that had gone 2-0 down against Sri Lanka recently would be imperative for their morale and standing. This series is the first one in 12 years India lost at home during a period where they didn't lose a Test. For 18 Tests they had remained unbeaten and this is a huge dent to that record. The tenure of leadership can never begin with a series loss. Australia will ensure the start to the series has its sharp analysis of strategy coupled with the individual choice for a consecutive series of losses to be meted down to the management.
A win at Wankhede will also prove that the team is getting to grips with the head coach Gautam Gambhir's attack-oriented approach into games.
Keeping that in mind, Gambhir said on Thursday that no player rotation and no opportunities for those who haven't played in the series would be given. In his pre-match press conference, he said that although all the players are available for selection, he feels that it is better to stick with the present combination as there is a lot at stake.
"Absolutely not.". I feel we are not in a position to think on those lines. It is a very important test match for us. The World Test Championship is far away at the moment. It's a Test match which we are playing at home and we want to go out there and try and give our best and try and get the results in our favour, Gambhir said in reply to a question from IANS.
And even if we would have been 2-0 up, we still wouldn't have thought that way because Test cricket is something which people need to earn rather than just thinking of allowing them to be a Test cricketer. A test cap needs to be earned, he added.
With such strong affirmations from the coach, the team is sure to go all guns blazing in the third Test. That means Jasprit Bumrah will feature for the third game in succession, with seniors like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, K.L. Rahul, and Rishabh Pant, who had been nursing an injury.
Bumrah has been a minimal spectator in the nets. Explaining this, Gambhir said that Bumrah is saving energy with this being Mumbai and with rain everywhere.
Gambhir said that the team will work on all aspects to play better and did not look at any one thing because of which they have gone wrong in the first two matches. However, the batting has been pretty sorely disappointing. The bowling has been pretty good though, with Washington Sundar taking seven wickets during the second Test.
India crumpled in batting to a disastrous collapse as it was bowled over for a mere 46 in the first innings of the first Test at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium and could only manage to score 156 in the first innings of the second match on a pitch favoring spin at the Maharashtra Cricket Stadium in Pune.
Some brilliant batting performances were seen from individuals such as Sarfaraz Khan and Rishabh Pant, who had struck 150 and 99 runs respectively in the second innings of the first Test and Kohli and Rohit Sharma with half century scores each. However, overall the batting has raised a few eyebrows as Indians conceded 6-7 wickets for around 50 runs at two places.
At Wankhede, the team could look forward to leaving the controversies in the past and producing their best to transfer the pressure back onto New Zealand. Moreover, Wankhede is known to throw up some bounce and swing for the pace bowlers in a spin-friendly pitch given by the management, something New Zealand may try and cash in on.
From here, the Black Caps started their series with an unimpressive defeat against Sri Lanka at 2-0 but are astonishing so far in India as that is a country the Black Caps have always struggled against. Before this series they have only won two of their 36 Test matches inside the Indian soil and winning two consecutives made some real achievement for the team of Tom Latham. The Captain of this team Kane Williamson had recuperated at home, but New Zealand found few stars at the most critical moments.
Pacemakers would make the early impression in this victory to win the game. While Matt Henry and Tim Southee regularly troubled batters from both ends through the innings, William O'Rourke would find some wickets. However, a majority of the breakthroughs that the Kiwi bowlers could have would come when Mitchell Santner picked 13 wickets in the series-winning encounter in Pune.
The batting side saw action through the efforts of Rachin Ravindra who, on his first appearance, took crucial hundred to create a large lead at the first Test. Another one was in Pune wherein he batted significantly to half century in the first innings. Half-centuries by Devon Conway and Tom Latham went a long way in giving their side a vital push.
New Zealand would hope for Ajaz Patel to raise his game in Wankhede where, during New Zealand's last tour of India in 2021, he did all that was possible when he took all 10 wickets in an innings. While Santner proved the star for New Zealand at Pune, the side will be hoping for Patel to repeat the magic this crucial Test match will thrill audiences for its implications to both teams.
Squads: India: Rohit Sharma, c; Jasprit Bumrah, vc; Yashasvi Jaiswal; Shubman Gill; Virat Kohli; KL Rahul; Sarfaraz Khan; Rishabh Pant (wk); Dhruv Jurel (wk); Ravichandran Ashwin; Ravindra Jadeja; Axar Patel; Kuldeep Yadav; Mohd. Siraj; Akash Deep; Washington Sundar.
New Zealand: Tom Latham (c), Tom Blundell (wk), Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Will O'Rourke, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ben Sears, Tim Southee, Will Young.
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