Team India will now try to win the second Test in order to win the series with Virat Kohli returning to the side as skipper.
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The Indian men’s cricket team might not have lost the first of the two-Test matches against New Zealand, but it sure felt like a defeat. India only needed one wicket to win the match at the end but a resilient partnership between Ajaz Patel and Rachin Ravindra denied the hosts what would have been an outstanding victory. The Kiwis will be in good spirits going into the second and final Test match on Friday as they earned a commendable draw from the clutches of defeat. However, there will be a few concerns regarding the middle order. For India, there does not seem to be any immediate worry. Almost all of the players had a decent performance in the first Test and they will be hoping to win the upcoming match and the series. A good thing for the hosts will be that their skipper Virat Kohli will be back for the match. It will be interesting to see who will miss out to accommodate Kohli in the starting line-up.
Despite being so close to victory, India failed to defeat New Zealand in the first Test. The Indian team will now try to win the second Test in order to win the series. Virat Kohli will return to the team and take the captaincy. Shreyas Iyer has been in excellent form for India, and Shubman Gill has also been impressive with the bat. Spinners Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel bowled admirably in the first Test between India and New Zealand.
India currently sit third in the 2021-23 ICC World Test Championship points table. India has won two matches, lost one, and drawn two others. As a result, India has a PCT of 50.0. If they defeat New Zealand in the series, they may be able to move up the points table.
New Zealand has put up a strong fight against India. Even after batting for the entire fifth day of the first Test between India and New Zealand, the visitors were able to keep wickets and draw the match. Tom Latham has been in excellent form in the first Test, and Will Young has also been impressive with the bat. New Zealand now has a chance to defeat India in the second Test and win their first Test series on Indian soil.
New Zealand is currently ranked fifth in the 2021-23 ICC World Test Championship points table. So far, New Zealand have only played one match, which ended in a draw. As a result, they have a PCT of 33.33. If they beat India and win the series, they will move up several places in the points table.
India: Virat Kohli (C), Ajinkya Rahane, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara (VC), Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Wriddhiman Saha (WK), KS Bharat (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Md. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (c), Tom Blundell (wk), Devon Conway, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Will Somerville, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Will Young, Neil Wagner.
