The Indian national cricket team has demanded a rank-shifting surface for the third Test of the three-match series against the New Zealand national cricket team.
Rohit Sharma’s India will take on Tom Latham’s New Zealand in the third Test match at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai starting Friday, November 1.
India struggled against New Zealand pacers in first Test
The Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru hosted the first match of the Test series between India and New Zealand and the home team failed miserably in the first innings.
The batsmen looked absolutely clueless in the favorable conditions against William O’Rourke, Matt Henry and Tim Southee, and the hosts were bowled out for 46 runs.
In the next innings, when conditions calmed down, the Rohit Sharma-led team performed better. Sarfaraz Khan scored a brilliant 150 runs while Rishabh Pant scored a sensational 99 runs.
Virat Kohli played a brilliant knock of 70 runs and Rohit Sharma smashed 52 runs as the hosts posted a decent total of 462 runs on the board, setting a target of 107 runs for the Kiwis. The Black Caps found the low target easy to chase and won the match by 8 wickets.
Mitchell Santner destroyed Rohit Sharma & Co. in the Pune Test
In the second Test, which was played at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune, the Indian batsmen once again struggled, but this time against the spinners.
Left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner turned out to be a nightmare for batsmen as he bowled exceptional lines and lengths. The left-arm spinner picked up wickets at regular intervals and dismissed the opponent for 156 in 45.3 overs.
Mitchell Santner dismissed Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Sarfaraz Khan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Akash Deep and Jasprit Bumrah to finish with a career-best 7 for 53 and helped New Zealand take a 103-run lead. .
Santner did not stop there as he dismissed Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Sarfaraz Khan and Ravichandran Ashwin in the second innings to take a 6-fer. His impressive performance helped New Zealand win the match and seal a historic Test series victory.
It will be a rotating range launch: source on IND vs NZ third test launch
According to the latest report in the Indian Express, the Indian team management has demanded a ‘rank changer’ for the third over from the Mumbai Cricket Association despite the batsmen’s struggle against the bowlers.
“It will be a turner range launch. The team management has asked to prepare a pitch that can help the spinners from day 1. It seems like the team wants to follow a tried and tested formula,” a source told The Indian Express.
The batsmen are likely to find conditions very challenging with spin and bounce on the Mumbai surface. The game is very likely to end early if there is an uneven bounce on the field.
The likes of Washington Sundar, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will enjoy bowling on the track and cause problems for the Kiwis. However, New Zealand’s spinners will also be a big threat to the home team’s batsmen.