India vs New Zealand, IND vs NZ 2024, Today Match Prediction

IND vs NZ Match Prediction & Analysis

New Zealand bowlers took full advantage of favourable overcast conditions on the second day of the first test to bundle India out for 46, snatching the initiative. Although India did well to recover in the third innings and posted a 400+ total, it was never going to be enough to trouble a resurgent Kiwi side.

They were sweating on Kane Williamson’s fitness, but reports are out confirming that the Kiwi legend is likely to miss another test to allow for more time to recover from an injury.

Nevertheless, the visitors would still feel a lot reassured going into the second test against India in Pune, which starts on the 24th of October. The wickets here have offered a lot of assistance to pacers, and the visitors for sure think they’ve got the stocks in their pace department to tap any advantage available to them and compete against India.

IND vs NZ Betting News

TEAMS PREVIEW

India Preview

The Bengaluru test worked in mysterious ways for the hosts. They folded to their lowest total (46) ever against New Zealand and then orchestrated a brave rear-guard in their second innings to end up with the highest innings total of the match (462), but it was nowhere near enough to stop the Kiwis drawing first blood in the series.

Having elected to bat first, India showed no real intent to accumulate runs facing up to a lethal pace attack charging in with their tails up. They soaked up 31 overs and had just 46 runs on the board to show for it, as they struggled coming to grips with the Kiwi pacers.

But, unfortunately for them, the sun came out and batting became a lot easier during the rest of the day. The way they folded in the first innings was very decisive in the context of the match and ended up hurting them badly in the end.

There were a few positives for them to take away though. Rishabh Pant, with the bat, held fort in the first innings and went out on the offensive in the third, showing his complete character arc.

Sarfaraz Khan’s 150, Virat Kohli’s crucial 70 pairing up with the Mumbai batter, and Rohit Sharma’s intent-filled fifty were some of the high points. On the bowling front, Ravichandran Ashwin had a disappointing outing, going for runs and collecting just 1 wicket in the whole match.

Shubman Gill's inclusion in the XI is much-needed given how wobbly the hosts' batting order is. 

India Predicted Playing XI:

Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

India Actual Playing XI:

Rohit Sharma, Sarfaraz Khan, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Deep, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Washington Sundar

New Zealand Preview

New Zealand are on cloud nine at the moment. They earned a hard-fought victory against India on Indian soil, all without the services of their finest batsmen ever, Kane Williamson. They really didn’t feel Kane’s absence, thanks to the manner in which the Indian batsmen meekly surrendered in the first innings.

Rachin Ravindra impressed with a man of the match performance, notching up his first test hundred against India in the second innings and seeing off the chase in the fourth innings at Bengaluru, a venue that’s so close to his heart. Devon Conway showed great application in the second innings and was crucial to New Zealand’s chances of making a huge score, but he was dismissed nine runs shy of what would have been a terrific century. Will Young got solid starts in both the innings and helped himself to good form going into the second test.

But, the bowlers, especially, Matt Henry and William O’Rourke deserve all the credit for their tormenting spells that disembowelled the Indian batting order, from the top order to tail.

New Zealand would do well to realize that not very often do India capitulate the way they did, and the pitches in the coming matches may not assist pace much, taking out the sting from their excellent pace attack.

New Zealand Predicted Playing XI:

Tom Latham (c), Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (wk), Glenn Phillips, Matt Henry, Tim Southee, Ajaz Patel, William O'Rourke.

New Zealand Actual Playing XI:

Tom Latham, Tom Blundell, Devon Conway, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, William O'Rourke, Ajaz Patel, Tim Southee

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The pitch flattens out over time and gets easier to bat on as the match progresses, so teams batting second can truly capitalize and put a huge total on board.

In general, there is quite a bit of assistance for both spinners and pacers, but spinners usually dominate proceedings in the latter part of the test.

Runs in the first and second innings are crucial, as the wicket could get a little tricky to bat on with the ball starting to turn square.

Weather-wise, the forecast is sunny for the first three days with the chances of rain increasing over the last two days.

IND vs NZ Pitch Report

The match will be played at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune. India lost their last match to Australia 5 years ago, courtesy a spin-bowling masterclass from left arm spinner Steve O’Keefe who outdid the hosts’ spinners in both innings.

Toss: To Bowl

Pune is one of those venues where losing the toss wouldn’t put you at a disadvantage straightaway. But, if the wicket has a bit of a green tinge to it and the conditions are conducive to bowlers, it’s always safe to field first.