India Team. (Source – BCCI)

India (IND) and New Zealand (NZ) will take on each other in the first Test of the three-match series starting on Wednesday, October 16 at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

India’s Test team is back on the road following a 2-0 series victory over Bangladesh last month. Following their perfect sweep, India now leads the World Test Championship points table with 98 points and a PCT of 74.24. Interestingly, In 2024, India lost just one Test out of the eight played. 

The hosts have announced a 15-member roster for the series, with only one change from the Bangladesh tie. Pacer Yash Dayal, who was part of the 16-member squad, was not selected for this tour. The side is high on confidence and will try to repeat their stunning success in the upcoming series. This will be India’s final home series before they head to Australia for the much-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy. 

Also Check: IND vs NZ 2024 Test series: Schedule, Squads, Live Streaming, Broadcasters & All you need to know

Here’s India’s predicted XI for the 1st Test against New Zealand:

Openers – Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal

Rohit sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal. (Photo Source: BCCI)

India will be going with their successful opening pair of skipper Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal. The veteran opener struggled in the opening Test against Bangladesh as he couldn’t cross the double-digit mark. In the Kanpur Test, the 37-year-old gave the hosts a solid start in the second innings and laid the foundation for the historic win. 

On the other hand, his partner Jaiswal, has been going through a purple patch in the longest format of the game. In the Bangladesh series, the southpaw was India’s highest run-scorer with 189 runs in four innings, including three half-centuries. Jaiswal was also awarded the Player of the Match in the second Test for his impressive showing with the bat. The youngster looked solid in the previous fixture and will look to replicate a similar performance in the coming series.

Middle-order: KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz Khan

KL Rahul and Virat Kohli. (Photo Source: BCCI)

India’s middle order will consist of star batters KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, and Sarfaraz Khan. According to an India Today report, Shubman Gill will be absent from the first Test due to neck and shoulder pain. Meanwhile, a call on his availability will be taken on the opening day’s morning. With Gill being omitted from the tie, Sarfaraz Khan might get a nod for this match.

With the No.3 slot vacant, local boy, KL Rahul might walk in early. In the last series, Rahul scored 116 runs in three including a quickfire half-century in the first innings of the Kanpur Test. Aware of the conditions, the 32-year-old will be excited to impress his home crowd. 

Star batter Virat Kohli will come in to bat at his regular No.4 position. Kohli has featured in only three out of the five home Test matches this year. Kohli is also on the brink of registering another impressive record as he is 53 runs to become the fourth Indian to score 9,000 Test runs. In the last Test series, the 35-year-old looked uncomfortable in both the innings of Chennai Test. But in Kanpur, he registered scores of 47 and 29*, coming in no time.

Next in line, will be dynamic wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant. The previous series was Pant’s comeback to the Test team after a life-threatening accident in 2022. The southpaw made a memorable return, as he smashed a sublime hundred in the Chennai Test, and took out the hosts from a tricky situation. The Haridwar-born will once again look to smash the opposition bowlers all over the park and make use of the small boundaries in Bengaluru.

Furthermore, Sarfaraz will be given the responsibility to score runs at the later stage of the innings. Though he was named in the squad against Bangladesh, but couldn’t make the cut. But the 26-year-old is in fine touch as he scored a brilliant double-century for Mumbai against the Rest of India in the Irani Cup title game.

All-rounders: Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin

Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin. (Source – Photo by R.SATISH BABU/AFP via Getty Images)

India will field two of their most experienced all-rounders against the Kiwis in the first Test. Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin have been an asset for the host for a decade, especially in the longest format of the game. Both the athletes have not only contributed with the ball but have improved a lot as batters.

Jadeja in the last fixture came into bat twice in the entire series and posted scores of 86 and 8. His 199-run stand in the first innings of the Chennai Test was the turning point of the match. With the bowl, the 35-year-old scalped a total of nine wickets.

On the other hand, Ashwin was equally impressive in the Bangladesh series as he ended up as the Player of the Series for his hundred and six-fer on his home turf. With a total of 114 runs and 11 wickets under his belt, the veteran will be highly confident for this new challenge.

Bowlers: Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep

Akash Deep and Jasprit Bumrah (Twitter)

India will once again back their pace battery against New Zealand’s quality batters. Leading the charge will be ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who is coming off 11 wickets under his name in the last tour. Bumrah will be a great threat to the Kiwi batters with his accurate line, length, and late swing. The right-arm speedster also has the knack of bowling numerous variations, which puts constant pressure on the opposition batters. 

Sharing the new ball with Bumrah will be Mohammed Siraj. The Hyderabad-born pacer picked four wickets in total in the last series but was consistent with his line and lengths. Siraj has become one of India’s trustworthy bowlers in the past few years and has proven his capabilities with his good performances.

The whole nation was impressed by Akash Deep’s spell in the last series as he gave the home side early breakthroughs in both the Test matches. Deep who comes into the bowl after the first spell troubles the left-handers and will do the same in this series.  

India’s predicted XI against New Zealand in the first Test: