Less than 24 hours to go for the start of the first test match between India and New Zealand in Kanpur. Both teams are ready and eagerly waiting for the epic battle to commence. Playing in friendly conditions, India has a slight upper hand in the series already but with a confident New Zealand team in front of them, who are ready to pose tough challenges for them.

Key Battles Between Players

Lets take a look at key battles between different players expected on view in the first Test starting in Kanpur.

Virat Kohli vs Kane Williamson

Virat Kohli is already among the few modern greats with the bat. The most exciting battle will be between Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson both as batsmen and as captains. Both are by far the best batsman in their respective teams.

They not only have the responsibility to bat long hours and score runs for their team but also lead their side to victories. Among many key reasons which will determine who will win the series after a month’s battle, the Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson battle will be the most enticing one. 

Boult and Southee vs The Indian Top Order

While spin will be India’s trump card to win the series, its the Kiwi pacers in Trent Boult and Tim Southee who hold the key for NZ in the series. Well adept with Indian conditions, both Boult and Southee know exactly what is expected out of them and how to bowl on Indian wickets. If the wickets favour a bit of of swing and pace , these two can spell damage for the Indian batsmen.

The likes of Shikhar Dhawan especially needs to be careful while playing these pacers. There is a lot of stake for Dhawan playing in this series to hold on to his place as is Rohit Sharma who is expected to bat in the middle order if he is in the playing XI.

Indian Middle Order vs NZ Spinners

Its sheer quality that will be on view when the Indian middle order consisting of Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane , KL Rahul will play against the Kiwi sinners. The kiwi spin duo of Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi bamboozled India in their World T20 win earlier this year.

Hopefully, the two spinners will play all the three test matches for NZ in the series. They will look to pose serious challenge for the Indian middle order. The Indian middle order has players who can play spin well.

For NZ to win the series, its very important that their spinners should get a grip of the conditions early. 

NZ Batsmen vs India’s Spin Trio

India’s magic mantra for the test series is “spin it to win it”. Hence, they have selected three spinners in the squad. India will look to  Ravichandran Ashwin to lead the attack with his variations and change ups. Ravindra Jadeja is someone who will keep things tight and will try to dry up runs from one end. Amit Mishra, being a leggy, will use his flight and guile to deceive the batsmen, something that he is very good at.

Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor are the most experienced batsmen in the opposition team. They will have to take it upon themselves to shoulder the responsibility of resisting their threat and come out on top. Three spinners who complement each other very well  Jadeja, Ashwin and Mishra form a lethall combination for any opposition they play against.

Picture Courtesy: IndiaToday, ESPNCricinfo