Match factsStart time 1100 local (2200 GMT, previous day)
Big Picture
At one of the more oddly shaped grounds in cricket begins what looks like a Test series between evenly matched sides. New Zealand were overwhelmingly the better side in the ODIs, but they will surely know it won't be easy to roll India over during the Tests. There is evidence of that in how India put up a fight in the Tests in South Africa after an ODI series that was even more horrible than the one in New Zealand. Also the hosts have a record to correct, that of having won only three home Tests - two against West Indies and one against Zimbabwe - since the start of 2011.
India have a statistic of their own to match. They haven't won any of their last 12 away Tests. They can draw inspiration from how well they played on the first four days of the Wanderers Test. The biggest difference from the ODIs will be that their batsmen will be able to allow a few short balls go through without the pressure of having to score at more than six an over. Four Indian batsmen showed they had the patience to keep respecting the good balls in South Africa; India will need more of that.
It won't be as easy for New Zealand quicks, good as they are, as it was in the ODIs. The onus, still, will be on Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Neil Wagner and Doug Bracewell to take 20 wickets on what generally are true surfaces that don't break up, which shows in nine draws out of 12 matches since the start of 2011. Southee and Boult nearly delivered a win in Bangalore in 2012-13; they will want to go the whole way this time.
For Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara there are Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson. These are four batsmen as good as any for two batting sides to revolve around. It's the bowling where New Zealand score over India, but they will need the best of batting from batsmen other than Taylor and Williamson to make sure that advantage is not squandered.Read more.
At one of the more oddly shaped grounds in cricket begins what looks like a Test series between evenly matched sides. New Zealand were overwhelmingly the better side in the ODIs, but they will surely know it won't be easy to roll India over during the Tests. There is evidence of that in how India put up a fight in the Tests in South Africa after an ODI series that was even more horrible than the one in New Zealand. Also the hosts have a record to correct, that of having won only three home Tests - two against West Indies and one against Zimbabwe - since the start of 2011.
India have a statistic of their own to match. They haven't won any of their last 12 away Tests. They can draw inspiration from how well they played on the first four days of the Wanderers Test. The biggest difference from the ODIs will be that their batsmen will be able to allow a few short balls go through without the pressure of having to score at more than six an over. Four Indian batsmen showed they had the patience to keep respecting the good balls in South Africa; India will need more of that.
It won't be as easy for New Zealand quicks, good as they are, as it was in the ODIs. The onus, still, will be on Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Neil Wagner and Doug Bracewell to take 20 wickets on what generally are true surfaces that don't break up, which shows in nine draws out of 12 matches since the start of 2011. Southee and Boult nearly delivered a win in Bangalore in 2012-13; they will want to go the whole way this time.
For Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara there are Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson. These are four batsmen as good as any for two batting sides to revolve around. It's the bowling where New Zealand score over India, but they will need the best of batting from batsmen other than Taylor and Williamson to make sure that advantage is not squandered.Read more.
Source: Cricket News in Hindi
No comments:
Post a Comment