After the humiliation suffered at Basin Reserve, India would be hoping to bounce back and square things at Hagley Oval when they face New Zealand in the second Test of the series. What they will also have to contend with now is the fact that Neil Wagner would be back in the side and that the Kiwis might field an all-pace attack for the green pitch at Hagley Oval. The match begins at 04:00 HRS IST and will be broadcast on the Star Sports Network and live streaming will be available on Hotstar. Catch all the action on our live blog.
Another major test for India before the second game is concern surrounding Ishant Sharma’s availability (he has yet again suffered an ankle injury and is likely to miss the second Test). With five wickets in the first innings of the first Test, he was by all means India’s standout performer with the ball. In turn, it is said that Umesh Yadav will be given the nod.
Missing Ishant Sharma on what promises to be a quicker track than Wellington deals a body blow to the Indian bowling attack. In these challenging times, India would be hoping that the skipper finally comes up with a good knock to offset his poor run of form with the bat in the first Test (and the tour in general).
Squads:
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (C), Henry Nicholls, Ross Taylor, Colin de Grandhomme, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (WK), Tom Latham (WK), BJ Watling (WK), Trent Boult, Kyle Jamieson, Ajaz Patel, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner, Matt Henry
India: Virat Kohli (C), Mayank Agrawal, Prithvi Shaw, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Mohammad Shami, Navdeep Saini, Ishant Sharma
Feature image courtesy: AFP / Marty Melville
