India v New Zealand 2nd Test – India Predicted XI

Team India will take on New Zealand in the second Test of the series at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata tomorrow. Both the teams will be forced to make changes in the XI. While opener KL Rahul has been ruled out and Team India have two prospective replacements it is still a point of speculation whether the Black Caps skipper Kane Williamson who was reportedly down with a bug will be fit for the Test or not. On the eve of the game Virat Kohli said, “No comments on wicket. We have all bases covered as team concerned. It looks a normal wicket. Surface is pretty nice. It always has a grass cover and should be a good wicket to bat on.” It was Tom Latham who walked out from the Kiwi side to address the media and said, “I don’t think we were too far away in the first Test. If we were able to do that with bat and ball we will have a good chance.” Here we take a look at the predicted Indian XI for the Kolkata Test. Murali Vijay: Murali Vijay of India. (Photo by Ryan Pierse – CA/Cricket Australia/Getty Images) A certain name in the XI, Murali Vijay found his game back in the first Test. He had scored only 7 runs in the tour of West Indies in the only innings that he batted and there were concerns over his form. Vijay has been the key for Indian batting’s success in the last couple of years as he has taken over the responsibility of seeing through the initial charge of the opposition bowlers and to give a solid reply. He respects when it’s due and once he has his eyes set, goes after the bowlers. Vijay was patient for the first part of both the innings in the first Test and once the New Zealand skipper brought in the spinners he relished this opportunity and went after them. He stroked 65 and 76 in respective innings at Kanpur and to what we know of the Tamil Nadu batsman he will not be satisfied with those scores and would want to play a bigger knock at Kolkata. Gautam Gambhir: Indian batsman Gautam Gambhir during a practice session. (Photo by Subhankar Chakraborty/Hindustan Times via Getty Images) He wasn’t a part of the original squad picked for the series while he deserved, but fate had its way to give Gautam Gambhir what he had worked really hard for. Rahul’s hamstring injury paved way for Gambhir’s inclusion and the southpaw would do all in his power to make this opportunity count. It has come after a wait of 2 years and this time he would sit with glue in hand to stick upon and grip it. Gauti toiled in domestic cricket and kept scoring runs without making any noise, when asked about his comeback plans he always projected his performance and said he was not thinking about it. When the call to lead the India Blue team arrived it was a potent chance for him and he ended with silver in hand. The left-hander scored four half centuries in five innings and led his team from the front. Like Sourav Ganguly said “He also knows that the opportunities will be limited and the first two innings will be very important to get the belief back among the captain and the selectors.” Cheteshwar Pujara: Indian cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara. (Photo by JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images) There were questions over his utility in the team ahead of the series but the way Cheteshwar Pujara batted in the first Test and stood like a rock with opener Vijay in both the innings to give the team a solid platform he is an automatic selection as far as the upcoming Test in Kolkata is concerned. When coach Anil Kumble was queried about the strike rate of the batsmen he said strike rate counts only for the bowlers. Pujara was a major contributor in both the knocks for Team India with scores of 62 and 78. One could sense he had gained his confidence back, the runs were coming, the shots were flowing he didn’t go into the shell something he has been accused of in the past and the results were visible. There is a possibility that the team might go in with an extra bowler but in any case Pujara has the greater chance of retaining his place. Virat Kohli: Virat Kohli. (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images) Virat Kohli now isn’t just required to take care of his own batting, he has to get his resources together, deploy them, make sure they are in a position to get the best out of each player and think of immediate remedies if situation is going against them. That’s captaincy for you and it brings along a lot of pressure. Though the Indian team won the first Test in Kanpur, Kohli wasn’t among the runs in both the innings. He isn’t concerned by that, and he made it pretty clear while interacting with the media on the eve of the Test. Virat said, “I don’t think there is anything called form; it’s how you feel on a particular day. It can be – even if you are scoring runs every game suddenly you don’t feel good one game and get out.” No matter what he says but he has special preparations to tackle the upcoming challenges and he was seen practicing with the rubber ball to tackle the spongy bounce of the Kolkata wicket. Ajinkya Rahane: Ajinkya Rahane of India. (Photo by RANDY BROOKS/AFP/Getty Images) Another player who missed out making it big in the first Test Ajinkya Rahane will be itching to make it count at the Eden Gardens. He is the type of player who loves to come into the scene when a rescue is called upon. Rahane was dismissed for 18 in the first inning while he did better to settle for 40 in the second but for the standards he has set for himself over the years that wasn’t the best game for him. The vice-captain of the team needs to lend more support to the middle order and play the anchor since he has the ability to bat with the tail and given that Team India might opt for a power packed bowling attack and compromise on a batsman emphasizes the need for him to come good even further. Wriddhiman Saha (WK): India cricketer Wriddhiman Saha. (Photo credit DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images) Wriddhiman Saha who comes across as one of the most technically sound wicketkeepers in India is also the best available option for the team at the moment. Saha didn’t have much to do in the first Test; he walked out to bat just once and was dismissed for a duck. He had tough time keeping wickets with both the spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja turning the ball and most of the Kiwi batsmen failing to read them. Things will change when he walks out to play at Kolkata. This is the place he has spent most of his childhood. Every player loves to come back to the home ground as an international cricketer and play amidst cheers from the home crowd. It’s a great opportunity for Saha to get some runs and if the team plays with five batsmen his contribution with the bat becomes all the more important. Ravichandran Ashwin: (Photo Source: BCCI) There were reports that he might sit out of the match since he had a painful corn on the middle finger of his bowling hand but Ravi Ashwin is not an easy nut to crack. He played the first Test in pain and though he returned with a 10-wicket match haul, at the end said that he wasn’t really satisfied with the effort and wants to do better. Ashwin just surpassed the 200 wickets mark in his 37 Test and looks in absolutely fantastic rhythm to tear apart the Kiwis. It might not prove to be as easy as it was at Kanpur since the surface is a different one, but if Team India bats first even a target of 100 will prove difficult to be chased. He has the art of a conventional off-spinner and the tricks of modern-day cricket. Ravindra Jadeja: Ravindra Jadeja.(Photo by Pankaj Nangia/India Today Group/Getty Images) The man of the match for the first Test Ravindra Jadeja impressed most with his batting show since he was already expected to do well with the ball. Skipper Kohli was also pleased with his contribution with the bat and acknowledged it saying, “I’m happy with the way that hes contributing with the bat because I felt he always had the skills.” Jadeja has formed a dangerous pair with Ravi Ashwin and both the bowlers complement each other exceptionally well. If he starts to perform with the bat on a more consistent basis it will be the biggest boon to the team and then going in with a five-bowler attack won’t be a concern at all. Conditions in Kolkata will assist the batters which means his job as a bowler is set to get tougher while finding runs will be an even easier task. Jayant Yadav: Jayant Yadav. (Photo Source: BCCI) Team India is expected to strengthen the bowling department and that makes a strong case for Jayant Yadav’s inclusion. The New Zealand batting lineup has as many as five left-handers and that makes the off-spinner a more viable option ahead of the leggie Amit Mishra. He was brought in as a replacement for Ishant Shamra. It was a promotion for Yadav from the A team to the Indian squad. The 26-years old boasts of an experience of 42 first-class and 23 List A matches. He comes across a more conventional off-spinner and even if he is playing alongside Ashwin would pose as a different challenge. If he gets a nod ahead he will come in for Rohit Sharma. In domestic cricket Yadav has shown that he can bat and would prove handy lower down if the need arises. Umesh Yadav: India cricketer Umesh Yadav. (Photo by DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images) Umesh Yadav has the pace and knows how to swing the ball. He had a restricted role in the first Test as the pacers were just required for an initial burst of overs and once spinners took on they were deployed only after the ball was old and looked good enough to reverse swing. Kohli has always backed Umesh since he is the fastest bowler in the Indian ranks and its time he matures into the role, knows what he is expected to do and delivers for the team’s cause. He drew first blood at Kanpur but didn’t have any success thereafter. The Eden Gardens wicket won’t turn from day one and that’s why him bowling well becomes even more important. Umesh has Mohammad Shami for company at the other end and both of them are blessed with the attribute of pace. All he needs to do is execute the plans and ruffle up the Kiwis early on. Mohammad Shami: Mohammed Shami. (Photo by JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images) He is the more balanced bowler among the two and Shami does what he is asked to do. With the new ball he can make the red ball move around and the conditions in Kolkata are expected to be overcast. It is also Shami’s home ground and he will know exactly how the extract the best out of the surface. The New Zealand batsmen were starting to trouble the Indian bowlers on the last day with their stubborn resistance and that is when Shami bowled a session changing spell. He used the old ball to swing it the other way and broke a couple of wickets for Team India which proved just enough opening for the spinners to come in and wrap things up. Also read – Sourav Ganguly gets trapped in a lift at Eden Gardens

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India v New Zealand 2nd Test – India Predicted XI

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