1st Test: Eyes on Virat Kohli And Rohit Sharma as India Aim to Extend Home Domination vs New Zealand

Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill, the torchbearers of transition, will have to be India’s driving force in their quest to lord over an unsettled New Zealand in a three-Test series, beginning with the first match in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

The baton has not been completely passed, but Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are certainly running their last lap and these two young superstars will have to show that they can carry forward the legacy of the titans.

The signs, so far, are bright. Since a productive series against England earlier this year, Gill is now more familiar and comfortable with the rigours of Test cricket.

His last 10 innings contain three hundreds and two fifties, while Jaiswal’s last eight outings in Test cricket feature a 214 and five fifties.

Those numbers are not to be scoffed at. But at the same time, it is important for them to build on the foundation through this series against the Kiwis, a precursor to the much tougher journey to Australia next month.

Gill seemed to have sorted his issues with the in-coming deliveries from pacers, but a trace of the old failing still remains.

In Chennai, Bangladesh pacer Hasan Mahamud troubled him with nip-backers before eventually grabbing his wicket.

Similarly, Jaiswal has a penchant to go for expansive shots against pace bowlers to get dismissed, evidenced by his three dismissals recently against Bangladesh quicks.

In all, the left-hander has fallen to pacers 12 times in 20 innings that he has played till now, and he would want a better record before facing a clutch of top-class Australian pacers Down Under.

While these concerns are not deeply rooted, they serve as cautionary points against a New Zealand attack that has capable hands in pacers Matt Henry, William O’Rourke and the experienced Tim Southee, if he gets to play here after a sharp decline in his form.

There is another angle to the emergence of Jaiswal and Gill as the pillars of the Indian line-up, as Kohli and Rohit have not precisely set the field ablaze.

Rohit, who has played 15 innings this year, has made two hundreds but managed only one fifty in the remaining 13, totaling 497 runs in eight Tests at just over 35.

Kohli, 53 runs shy of 9000 Test runs, has not made even a fifty in six innings this year, and while Rohit often perishes in his attempt to grab the momentum away from opponents, his colleague offers a much more curious case.

The 35-year-old Kohli has not been able to convert the two starts he got this year, ending up with 46 (vs SA) and 47 (vs Bangladesh), stirring the uncomfortable memories of that great slump between 2019 and 2023.

The master batter will also have to keep an eye on New Zealand left-arm spinners – Ajaz Patel and Rachin Ravindra – the tribe who has been a thorn in his flesh in the past.

Aside that, it has been a while since these two stalwarts embossed their mark across a full series, and a nervy New Zealand could be their golden chance to do so and take flight to Perth in a bullish mood.

India has only minor concerns, but New Zealand’s troubles across batting and bowling departments are more pronounced.

Their batsmen struggled copiously against Sri Lankan spinners recently while losing an away series 0-2, and here they will have to negate two modern day greats in Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, even more dangerous customers on home surfaces.

They took 20 wickets together against Bangladesh and with the Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch expected to give some assistance to spinners as the match reaches its business end, the veterans might be itching to have a bowl here.

But besides the duo, the Kiwis will have to contend with the freakish genius of Jasprit Bumrah, who rattled Bangladesh picking up 11 wickets across two Tests.

Unlike several other bowlers, conditions do not figure high in Bumrah’s playbook as he depends on his stunning skill sets to hunt down the batters.

India will give a long thought before filling the fifth bowler slot. If they persist with the combination from the last series, then Akash Deep will do that duty as the third pacer behind Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.

Akash has done no harm to his chances either while showing fine control over his craft against Bangladesh, often chipping in with a wicket or two to sustain the pressure built by Bumrah or Ashwin.

The weather here also has been predicted to be gloomy over the course of this Test match, as there could be some delayed starts and truncated sessions.

So, there is a case for the management to go with a third pacer. But they will also tailor the fact that New Zealand, who have already lost Kane Williamson to an injury, were put through the wringer by Lankan spinners recently.

Hence, India can consider the option of bringing in either left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav or left-arm orthodox Axar Patel, who can double up as a handy lower-order batter.

Teams (from): 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, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep.

New Zealand: 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, Ben Sears, Matt Henry, Tim Southee, William O’Rourke.

Match starts at 9.30 AM IST.