Team India huddle during practice ahead of 1st Test against New Zealand in Kanpur
The Indian cricket team had a practice session at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur on Tuesday, ahead of the first Test match against New Zealand, which begins from Thursday. The Board of Control for Cricket In India (BCCI) posted photos of the players on its Twitter handle, and captioned it as “When #TeamIndia hit the ground running in Kanpur ahead of the 1st #INDvNZ Test.” This will be Team India’s first assignment in Test cricket under new head coach Rahul Dravid, who started his stint with a 3-0 clean sweep over the Kiwis in the T20Is.
The team will be led in the first Test at Kanpur by Ajinkya Rahane as Virat Kohli has been rested for the match. Kohli will return to lead the team in the second Test at Mumbai. Cheteshwar Pujara will be the vice-captain during the first Test.
📸 📸 When #TeamIndia hit the ground running in Kanpur ahead of the 1st #INDvNZ Test. @Paytm pic.twitter.com/qbMejsdzxW
— BCCI (@BCCI) November 23, 2021
It will be interesting to see India’s approach under Dravid, who retired from international cricket as one of India’s finest Test batsmen.
India has started the second cycle of World Test Championship in great fashion as they lead the Test series against England 2-1. The last match of that series will be played next year as it was postponed due to COVID-19 related concerns.
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India’s form at home has been outstanding to say the least, as they have won all 11 Test series under Virat Kohli’s captaincy on home soil so far. India last tasted defeat at home in 2012-13, when MS Dhoni’s team went down 1-2 to England. It must also be noted that New Zealand has never won a Test series in India and have managed to draw only twice.
India completed a clean sweep of 3-0 over the Blackcaps, the last time they had toured India in 2016-17.
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