India kick-started the tour on a positive note by whitewashing New Zealand in the T20 series by 5-0. However, the hosts settled the score by inflicting a 3-0 whitewash on the visiting team in the ODIs. Both teams have moved on to the final stage and they are playing the first Test match at Basin Reserve in Wellington.
Team India ended the opening day with 122/5 in 55 overs. Kyle Jamieson ripped through the defence of Indian batting line up as he bagged three wickets. Trent Boult and Tim Southee picked one wicket apiece. Opening batsman Mayank Agarwal showed resistance at the top but it was shortlived as he was dismissed on 34.
Prithvi Shaw, Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Hanuma Vihari were dismissed cheaply. Ajinkya Rahane and Rishabh Pant put up a fight in the middle and are unbeaten on 38 and 10 respectively. Meanwhile, heavens opened up and rain gods ensured there would be no chance of a play as the first day came to a close.
India made a smart choice by not picking up KL Rahul for Tests: Sanjay Manjrekar
Ahead of the Test series, cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar, in a Q&A session on Twitter revealed his Indian cricket team’s composition on being asked for it.
One of the users asked Manjrekar whether India made a mistake by dropping the in-form KL Rahul from the Test team set-up.
Rahul has by far been the better batsman for India since the start of the tour. Not only did he scored runs for the team consistently but also kept the wickets quite well. He played an important role in the build-up to India’s 5-0 win over the hosts in the shortest format and rightly so, he was named the Player of the Series.
Rahul also continued his rich vein of form in the ODIs but was not picked for the two-match Test series.
“Did India make a mistake by not picking an in-form KL Rahul for the tests? #AskSanjay,” a user tweeted.
Smart choice from India for Tests: Sanjay Manjrekar
To which, Manjrekar came up with an interesting explanation. The commentator clarified by saying that India made the right decision by not picking Rahul by keeping the format in mind as the longest format differs from ODIs and T20Is.
“No. India made a very smart choice. By keeping in mind the formats. Tests so different from ODIs and T20s,” Manjrekar said.