Video of Day 1 Match Highlights : IND v NZ 1st Test Kanpur

India vs New Zealand, 1st Test, Kanpur, Nov 25 – 29 2021, New Zealand tour of India

Toss Update : India won the Toss and  Chose to Bat First

Day 1 Report : India owned Day 1. It certainly belonged to Team India due to the dominant third session. India did not lose a single wicket and scored over 100 runs in the final session. Shreyas Iyer, with his calculated aggression, scored 75 which included a huge six over mid-wicket. That seemed like a 90-95 meters six. Ajaz Patel was warned by the umpire when he was belonging too many balls outside the leg stump. The strategy did not work and the batsman were not offering any shot to it. 

New ball was taken after 80 overs which ignited hopes of a wicket in the New Zealand bowlers. Unfortunately, the new ball phase only saw more runs being scored. Jadeja hammered two skillful fours in just the next over of new ball being taken. His warrior celebration delighted the Kanpur crowd and got him some cheers. The light was not good enough for pacers to continue bowling. So the spinners were introduced. Two overs were bowled thereafter and finally, the light kept getting dim due to which play was called off earlier than expected. Only 84 overs were bowled. And as I said earlier, due to the third session, the whole day was won by India.

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Pitch report: Last time a Test match was played here was five years ago. It was India-New Zealand back then as well. Looks very similar to the one last five years. Bereft of grass. We can see cracks opening up. It will be good for batting early on, but those cracks will open up. Maybe play up and down later on. The cracks are prominent already and the edges are wobbly. Ball will turn and looks abrasive as well, so reverse swing will come into play as well. I like this concept of home series, home pitch. You turn in New Zealand it looks very green. You come here this is what you expect. So players have got to adapt.

Cheteshwar Pujara: It (preparation) has been good. I was part of the IPL, didn’t play but was training and preparing whenever I got time. So, the prep has been good. We also had a good practice session in Mumbai. It’s good to be back playing at home because we haven’t played in India for a while now. Their (Virat, Rohit) absence does give the others a chance to prove themselves. It (responsibility) is there obviously but I don’t think I should think too much about it. This track was a bit slow the last time we played here, but did spin later. 

Ajinkya Rahane: Looking to bat first. Pitch looks really good. Generally slows down later on here. It’s an opportunity for all of us here to do well here and in Mumbai. Few of the senior guys are missing. So it’s an opportunity for the youngsters. Shreyas is making his debut. We are all excited to play under the new coaching staff. I personally enjoy playing under Rahul bhai. New Zealand are a quality side. 3 spinners, 2 seamers.

Kane Williamson: We would have batted first as well. But we got the ball in hand first, so it’s important we get some early wickets. Looking forward to this challenge. It’s mixed (the elbow injury), but it’s okay. Ajaz Patel and Will Somerville have done well previously. We are going in with two spinners, two pacers and a spinning all-rounder debut in Rachin Ravindra.

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