IND v NZ, 3rd Test Preview: Indian brigade closes in on Whitewash

While the news has been orbiting quite a bit lately around the world number one ranking, a whitewash beckons for Virat Kohli and his band of merry men. There is also somewhat of a historical significance in the final IND v NZ Test as the Holkar Stadium in Indore will be hosting its first ever Test match.

This effectively means that one would not know what to expect from this wicket when it comes to the five-day game. Moreover, with a series of injuries on both sides, it would be fair to assume an exciting encounter.

Team Analysis

India

Team India has won the series courtesy of their 2-0 lead in thus far. However, skipper Virat Kohli is far from pleased with a 2-0 win. “We need to show that we are a championship side rather that just being the world number one,’ he said. And the way he said it, it seemed as though he meant every single word he said. If this does not give the team the determination it needs, not many wills.

While all the inspirational talk is good, it is quite clear that the Indians are slightly on the back foot coming into the third Test. With Shikhar Dhawan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar out of action, the Indian team management will have to ring in the changes. Gautam Gambhir looks set to play his first Test match since his fateful axing from the side following the events that occurred at The Oval in 2014.

While the Indian batting unit seems to be patched up pretty well despite the bruises, the absence of Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be quite a massive blow to the Test champions. While Umesh Yadav and Amit Mishra are on the bench, it will be interesting to see if Shardul Thakur received his long-awaited Test debut. Karun Nair, who has been roped in as a cover for Dhawan, may also get his chance ahead of Rohit Sharma.

New Zealand

The tour of India has been a quintessential disaster for New Zealand in more ways than one. With a few injuries to the side, only a handful of the players has dug in deep and fought it out against a tough Indian side to earn themselves enough respect from the Indian players. Injuries and flu to the likes of Jimmy Neesham and Kane Williamson also have not helped the team’s cause.

The form of Martin Guptill also has ceased to help. The 30-year old has been troubled by the conditions to such an extent that even the luck has not gone his way in the past. Moreover, his ability to strike the ball as well as he does in limited-overs is something shocking as far as most of the New Zealand management is concerned. Anton Devcich may replace him for the final Test.

However, in spite of that, the return of Kane Williamson will also boost the Kiwis a long way in terms of their on-field captaincy as well as adding some sort of solidity to the middle order. Henry Nicholls will be one of those players looking to make up for lost time in effect with Tom Latham inching towards 3000 runs.

Probable XI-

India:

Virat Kohli (C), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Gautam Gambhir, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma/Karun Nair, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammad Shami, Umesh Yadav/Shardul Thakur

New Zealand:

Kane Williamson (C), BJ Watling (wk), Anton Devcich, Tom Latham, Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, Luke Ronchi, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi/Neil Wagner, Trent Boult, Matt Henry

StAttack:

1. This will be the first Test match to be played at the Holkar Stadium in Indore. Four ODIs have been played at this venue thus far. Moreover, India has won all their matches played here.

2. Gautam Gambhir requires one more century to complete 10 Test centuries. He will become the 15th Indian batsman to achieve this feat.

3. Ajinkya Rahane requires 2 runs to complete 2000 Test runs.

4. Neil Wagner requires one wicket to complete 100 Test match wickets.

5. Tom Latham requires 311 runs to complete 3000 Test match runs.