What should India's team be against NZ?

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  • Virt Kohli and Anil Kumble have some tough decisions to make

    Ahead of India’s first Test against New Zealand, Indian batsman Ajinkya Rahane seemed to be very excited as India begin a long home season that will comprise of 13 Tests.

    “It is exciting times for us with the 13 Tests scheduled at home. The West Indies tour went well for us. Some players also featured in the Duleep Trophy before the New Zealand series. We feel we are in pretty good space at the moment,” he said.

    The selectors have chosen a strong 15-man squad with few surprises thrown in. The performances of the Indian players will be a crucial litmus test for more difficult (that’s what the ICC Test Rankings say at least) opposition like England and Australia, who both face India later this season.

    Here, Sport360 examines at the options that India have and the combinations they can choose to go in with for the first Test against the Blackcaps which will be played at Green Park in Kanpur.

    BATSMEN

    It will be a tough choice at the top of the order for skipper Virat Kohli as he has three batsmen fighting for the openers’ slots.

    Murali Vijay has been the most consistent opening batsman for India in Tests in recent history and though he played just two matches (one of which was almost completely washed out) in the Test series against the West Indies, he is unlikely to sit out if he is fit.

    Shikhar Dhawan has been Vijay’s opening partner in Tests for some time now, but the Delhi batsman might lose his place to the in-form KL Rahul. Dhawan can be a force to contend with on sub-continental pitches but his indifferent form of late may see the axe fall on him.

    Rahul, on the other hand, is on a dream run after a superb Indian Premier League (IPL) season and a good series against the West Indies. Since his debut in 2014, he has made the best of the few opportunities he has had and this is the right time to give him a long rope.

    The other option is to keep the opening combination unchanged and go in with Rahul at number three. That would mean dropping Cheteshwar Pujara but that looks unlikely given his brilliant form in the Duleep Trophy. Pujara scored 166 and 31 in the last round-robin match and followed it up with a brilliant 256 in the final.

    In all likelihood, therefore, Vijay and Rahul will open the batting with Pujara coming in at number three. Dhawan might have to sit out for the first Test at least.

    Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane’s places in the middle-order are confirmed and it’s unlikely that Rohit Sharma will play considering India are likely to go in with just five specialist batsman and Wriddhiman Saha, with Ravichandran Ashwin batting at number six.

    BOWLERS

    India have chosen four pacers in Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami in their squad with all of them in good form at the moment. It has been heartening for Indian fans to see that all the pacers are now keen to run in and clock speeds of more than 140 km/ph.

    Yadav looks the likeliest to miss out among them as he has lacked consistency and has erred continuously in line and length. Since his comeback, Bhuvneshwar has looked leaner and hungrier – his ability to swing the ball with pace now makes him an extremely useful bowler.

    Mohammed Shami under Virat Kohli's captaincy

    • Matches: 6
    • Wickets: 20
    • Average: 29.55
    • Strike Rate: 48.7

    In all likelihood, however, it is going to be the vastly experienced Ishant Sharma who will partner the Bengal pacer Mohammed Shami. Sharma has got back to his best under Kohli’s captaincy and has produced match-winning spells often.

    Shami, on the other hand, has been on the mark ever since his comeback from injury. His willingness to bend his back and bowl fast has paid rich dividends.

    India are likely to go in with a three-prong spin attack in Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra and Ravindra Jadeja. Ashwin and Mishra have been Kohli’s favoured choices, but Jadeja might get a look in too as he has played in almost all home matches of late.

    Speaking on the pitch, Rahane said, “The weather is not in our control but we have generally seen slow and low wickets here, like it was in the ODI against South Africa last year.

    “Hopefully the wicket will turn. We all know in India that wickets are helpful for the spinners. That is our strength here and it is important to play to our strengths.”

    A spinner-friendly track, as is being expected mostly, might well see the Indian management field all three spinners in the squad.

    POSSIBLE COMBINATIONS

    The big talking point is, of course, whether India will choose to go in with the 6-5 combination or will they would fall back on the luxury of playing seven batsmen? Both Pujara and Rohit Sharma will make it to the team should India go in with seven batsmen.

    Such a combination however looks unlikely as Kohli has always favoured playing with five genuine bowlers. Ashwin getting runs at number six is of course an added bonus with the likes of Mishra and Jadeja chipping in.

    Kohli has, on numerous occasions in the past, played Rohit in place of Pujara but that is unlikely to happen at least for the first Test given the latter’s superb domestic form.

    If India go in with five bowlers, there is a slim chance of going in with the extra seamer in Bhuvneshwar if the pitch offered is a green deck. But all signs are that it will be a spinner-friendly track and all three spinners are likely to play.

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