series, they can surely back themselves
to claim that Number One spot in Test Cricket.
He knows he has a team with a right mix
of youth and experience, a team capable
of showing aggression as well as endurance
at his disposal.
The last time India won a test series in
New Zealand was way back in 1976 under Little
Master Sunil Gavaskar with 3-1 margin. Since
then they have toured the Kiwi land six
times but a series win has always eluded
them. There are three Indians in the present
team who have done extremely well in New
Zealand - Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag
and Zaheer Khan – and Dhoni will count
of them to deliver goods for the team.
Rahul Dravid was a no brainer; India’s
mainstay in Test Cricket has an impressive
record in New Zealand with 452 runs at an
average of 64.57 from his four matches.
He has some wonderful memories of playing
in Hamilton, the venue for the first test.
The first time he played in Hamilton in
1998-99, he scored centuries in both innings
(190 & 103*) of a test. Overall he has
scored 341 runs at an average of 113.66
in two tests at this venue.
The idea of playing domestic matches in
New Zealand has worked wonders for ‘The
Wall.’ He scored a century playing
for Canterbury and that would have provided
him with confidence before the start of
the test series. If India has to win this
series his contribution with the bat will
be crucial. The other players who joined
the team for tests also got a feel for the
conditions in New Zealand. Zaheer Khan was
easily the best bowler for India on their
last tour with 11 wickets in two matches
and his personal best innings figures of
5 for 29 came in this very same venue.
Kiwis on the other hand have their task
cut out. They know the only way to put up
some fight is to keep picking wickets and
that’s exactly what their skipper
Daniel Vettori will expect from his bowlers.
However, the Kiwi bowlers can breadth a
sigh of relief as they will not get hammered
as in ODIs.
Team News:
Except that of the third seamer’s
slot the rest of the Indian XI pick themselves.
Considering Munaf Patel’s poor show
in one-dayers, L Balaji might get the nod
ahead from the team management. Martin Guptill
will make his test debut for New Zealand
in the middle-order while James Franklin
coming back from an injury will now don
the all-rounder role for New Zealand.
India(likely): Gautam Gambhir,
Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar,
VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh
Dhoni (Capt & Wk), Harbhajan Singh,
Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma and L Balaji.
New Zealand(likely): Tim
McIntosh, Daniel Flynn, Ross Taylor, Jesse
Ryder, Martin Guptill, James Franklin, Brendon
McCullum (Wk), Daniel Vettori (Capt), Kyle
Mills, Iain O'Brien and Chris Martin.
Match Starts: March 18,
2009 Wednesday, 11.00 AM local time
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