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PremiumIndia vs New Zealand 1st Test, Bengaluru Weather LIVE Updates: Rohit Sharma led team India will take on New Zealand for the first of 3 match Test series in Bengaluru from today. The men in blue are on a six match winning streak in Test cricket and had last registered a famous victory against Bangladesh in Kanpur.
New Zealand who had recently faced a whitewash in Sri Lanka will be wary of an Indian team that is very strong in their own backyard. Meanwhile, the Kiwis will be without the services of skipper Kane Williamson, who is out due to an injury and Tom Latham will lead the charge for them in this series.
Meanwhile, this is more or less the same Indian side that was selected for the recently concluded Bangladesh Test series, with Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah staying as the lead pacers, followed by Akash Deep. As for the batting front, new-generation players Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill will look to continue their stunning performances in the longest performance of the game.
All eyes on Rohit - Virat:
Captain Rohit Sharma and veteran batter Virat Kohli will be hoping to score some runs in this series to silence the increasingly vocal critics about their recent performance. The Indian skipper has scored 497 runs at an average of around 35, with two hundreds and one fifty, while Kohli hasn’t managed to score a half-century in the six innings he has played this year.
India squad:
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, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep.
New Zealand squad:
Tom Latham (captain), Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Mark Chapman, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner, Rachin Ravindra, Tom Blundell (wk), Ajaz Patel, Matt Henry, Tim Southee, William O'Rourke, Jacob Duffy.
India Vs New Zealand, Bengaluru Weather LIVE Updates: The covers are back on the pitch, and there is no official word on whether any play will be possible today. The umpires conducted an inspection of the surface, but their body language did not inspire much confidence. It seems highly unlikely that we will see any cricket today, but stay tuned as events unfold in Bengaluru.
India Vs New Zealand, Bengaluru Weather LIVE Updates: Covers are coming off at the Chinnaswamy stadium as rain has seemingly stopped in Bengaluru. However, it does remain to be seen if Day 1 of the 1st Test can still be salvaged at this stage.
As things stand, 1st session was officially called off while we should soon see the announcement about calling off the second session. Best case scenario, we see 20-30 overs of play today, that is in case the groundsmen can dry the stadium in time and rain doesn't decide to play spoilsport once again.
India Vs New Zealand, Bengaluru Weather LIVE Updates: Multiple users on social media are now reporting that a light drizzle has once again gripped Chinnaswamy stadium. Could this be the final nail in the coffin for this day? We'll have to wait for official confirmation for the broadcasters on that.
India Vs New Zealand, Bengaluru Weather LIVE Updates: According to Revsportz, rain has stopped in Bengaluru and ground staff are now having a discussion. While we are yet to receive an official confirmation from the broadcaters, if this news turns out to be true, we might get to see at least one session of play today.
India Vs New Zealand, Bengaluru Weather LIVE Updates: Speaking ahead of the first match, Rohit said, "When it comes to batting, there are a lot of options. We want to create the same in bowling as well. We want to create bench strength where tomorrow if anything happens to anyone, we are not worried,"
"We don't want to heavily reliant on a few individuals. That is not the right thing to do. We want to look at the future and try and make sure we get the right guys in as well," the Indian captain added
India Vs New Zealand, Bengaluru Weather LIVE Updates: With one session already washed out due to rains, there are only two more sessions of play left in the day. If rain stops now, umpires will take a look at the playing conditions at the Chinnaswamy stadium to ascertain if any play can be conducted there on Day 1. Once they decide that the conditions are fit to play cricket, the toss will be held followed by shortened game of cricket.
India Vs New Zealand, Bengaluru Weather LIVE Updates: It's official, Lunch has been taken in Bengaluru, meaning one sesssion of play has been washed out due to rain on Day 1. Saba Karim on JioCinema states that rain continues to plague the Chinnaswamy stadium.
India Vs New Zealand, Bengaluru Weather LIVE Updates: Speaking ahead of 1st Test, latham said, "When you think of playing in these conditions, you naturally focus on the spinners. But India also has an equally formidable pace attack with Bumrah, Siraj, and Akash Deep, who's played the last couple of Tests against Bangladesh. It's a well-rounded side,"
India Vs New Zealand, Bengaluru Weather LIVE Updates: Multiple users on X state that rain has now finally stopped at Bengaluru's Chinnaswamy stadium. While we are yet to receive an official confirmation, if this does turn out to be true, cricket fans may finally get to some play today. Although, it remains to be seen how much time will be lost in the day.
India Vs New Zealand, Bengaluru Weather LIVE Updates: There is around 35% percent chances of rain during the afternoon, suggesting that once the play starts in M Chinnaswamy stadium, there may not be many interruptions.
India Vs New Zealand, Bengaluru Weather LIVE Updates: Speaking about Mohammed Shami's fitness levels ahead of 1st Test, Rohit said, “So he had to start again fresh. Right now, he is at NCA (National Cricket Academy). He is working with the physios, the doctors at NCA. We are keeping our fingers crossed. We want him to be fit. We want him to be 100% fit. More than anything else, we don't want to bring an undercooked Shami to Australia. That is not going to be the right decision for us."
"It is quite tough for a fast bowler having missed so much of cricket. Then suddenly to come out and be at his best, it is not ideal. We want to give him enough time to recover and be 100% fit. The physios, the trainers, the doctors have set a road map for him. He is supposed to play a couple of games before he plays international cricket. We will see where he is at after this New Zealand series. Then take a call at what stage of Australia he will be fit for us," the Indian captain added
India Vs New Zealand, Bengaluru Weather LIVE Updates: Saba Karim on JioCinema says there is only light drizzle in Bengaluru and once that ends there could be start of play in just the next 45 minutes to 1 hours. Notably, Bengaluru, unlike Kanpur's Green Park stadium, has one of the best drainage systems in the country.
India Vs New Zealand, Bengaluru Weather LIVE Updates: Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal would look to continue their great performances in Test match cricket after the start of play in Bengaluru. The two players are being seen as the next generation of Indian cricket after the retirement of skipper Rohit Sharma and batter Virat Kohli.
India Vs New Zealand, Bengaluru Weather LIVE Updates: Virat Kohli is just 53 runs away from getting 9,000 runs in Test cricket. Kohli is the third highest run scorer for India behind Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sunil Gavaskar.
India Vs New Zealand, Bengaluru Weather LIVE Updates: A new video from Black Caps X handle has given us a glimpse at the weather conditions in Bengaluru. In the video, Rains seem to be hitting hard at the Chinnaswamy stadium, making it almost clear that the first session would be washed out.
India vs New Zealand LIVE: Speaking at a pre-match press conference,
"Virat has always been a world-class cricketer. He has performed for such a long period of time and he is as hungry as when he made his debut. I remember opening the batting with him when he made his debut in Sri Lanka. To now, his hunger is always there,"
"And that is what makes him a world class cricketer and I am sure that he will be hungry to get runs in this series and probably moving forward to Australia as well. And we know that once he gets into those runs scoring how consistent can he be," Gambhir added
India vs New Zealand LIVE: According to the Indian Meteorology Department (IMD), Bengaluru may experience heavy rains over the next few days.
On Tuesday morning, the Indian team’s practice on the eve of the match was washed out. The training session, slated for 11:15 AM, had to be cancelled following heavy rainfall since morning.
As per Accuweather, there will be cloud cover over Bengaluru during the day and there is a 41 percent chance of rainfall.
India vs New Zealand LIVE: While the scheduled toss has been delayed in Benglauru, covers are now coming off at the Chinnaswamy stadium, giving a ray of hope to the Indian fans.
India vs New Zealand LIVE: A lot of pressure will be on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will be in focus as team India take on New Zealand during the 1st Test match in Bengaluru. The two veteran cricketers have failed to convert their starts into big scores and will need to show their mettle once again in the longest format of the match.
India vs New Zealand LIVE: Speaking at a press confrernce, Rohit said, "I am not surprised at all because the guy has got real talent. He has got the game to play in all sorts of conditions… Obviously, very new to international cricket right now, so, very hard to judge. But he has got all the ingredients for success at this level," he added.
"He is somebody who wants to learn the game, learn about batsmanship… When a youngster comes into the team, his mindset is quite critical.He always wants to improve, and is not happy with what he has achieved and which is obviously a great start to a young career. We found a great player. Hopefully, he can continue to do what he has done in the last year or so." the Indian skipper added
India vs New Zealand LIVE: The first test will be played from 16-20 October at Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy Stadium. The India vs New Zealand Test series will be telecast live on Sports 18 and live-streamed on the JioCinema app and website.
India vs New Zealand LIVE Speaking ahead of 1st Test match, Rohit said, "Mayank has shown what he is capable of, but we need to be cautious with him. He has dealt with several injuries in the past, so we don't want to rush him. We'll monitor him daily and gradually build up his workload with the red ball. Our aim is to develop him progressively rather than throwing him straight into international cricket,"
India vs New Zealand LIVE: Speaking ahead of the start of 1st Test in Bengaluru, Latham said, "We did not expect this kind of weather; it's not as hot as we anticipated, which could potentially bring the fast bowlers into play. We'll review the previous game played here, but it's hard to say for sure at the moment,"
"I think the last time we played a Test here, Tim took 7 for 60. Obviously, with Ben Sears ruled out, if we do go with three seamers, Tim will definitely be a key part of the equation," the New Zealand skipper added
India vs New Zealand LIVE: In a video posted by BCCI prior to the start of first test in Bengaluru, Rahul said, "It's always special for me to come back here, always special to come back to your home ground and place where you have grown up, played all your cricket. The feeling for me as an 11-year-old boy who came here first time to play a game, that feeling for me hasn't changed. I still remember that feeling so many years later as well. So yeah, it's always special to come back home from the time you leave the dressing room and walk out to the middle. There are so many emotions that go through you, so many memories that come back in 2 minutes,"
"I mean from age group cricket to when we were playing Ranji Trophy cricket, that used to be where we used to have breakfast, you know, finish our breakfast, come to the ground and start our training, finish our training and go back there for lunch. We spent a lot of time in the canteen and the clubhouse behind and at the ground. I haven't been there in the last year or so. I don't know if that place has changed now," the veteran cricketer added
