Live Updates India vs New Zealand: First Test Bengaluru, Day Two

All the action from day two of the first Test between India and New Zealand in Bengaluru.

By Peter Calder in Bengaluru

Nothing causes as much gloom as a bad weather forecast on the opening day of a cricket Test. That's especially true for everyone who traveled all the way from New Zealand for the three-Test series between the Black Caps and India, the team the New Zealanders defeated on the sixth and reserve day of the 2021 World Test Championship final.

When the game was scheduled to start at the Mangalam Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, the guests had not even arrived at the pitch. About 50 optimistic spectators had come to stare at the front pages, but their chance of even seeing a litter seemed slim at best.

It could hardly have been a surprise. The monsoon season in the state of Karnataka only ends in November and this year it was record breaking. It rains every day and it often rains heavily.

Why the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) would schedule a Test match in this city in October is difficult to understand. A completed test looks like a distant prospect; An exit from the game against Afghanistan in Greater Noida last month is not out of the question.

The prospects for the second and third Tests in Pune and nearby Mumbai appear brighter. This part of the country is particularly dry at this time of year.

The Black Caps have played 36 Tests in India since 1955 and have won just two, the last victory coming in 1988. This will be New Zealand's 13th Test tour of India, they have never tasted a series win, with their best result being two drawn series were (1969 and 2003).

The hosts enter the series at the top of the World Test Championship standings with 74.24%, having won their last six Tests in a row. The Black Caps are back in sixth place in the WTC standings and have not won a friendly since February.

When does New Zealand play India?

The first ball will be bowled today at 5 p.m.

How to watch New Zealand vs India?

Sky Sport 1 is available daily from 4:50 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. You can also follow the action Herald Live blog.

Test series schedule

1st Test, Bengaluru, Jan 16-20 October

2nd Test, Pune, 24-28 October

3rd Test, Wankhede, 1st-5th November

Previous test form

New Zealand: L, L, A, L, L.

India: W, W, W, W, W.

(newest first)

New Zealand vs India – last five test results

December 3, 2021 – India won by 372 runs, Wankhede

November 25, 2021 – Draw, Kanpur

June 18, 2021 – New Zealand won by eight wickets, Southampton

February 29, 2020 – New Zealand won by seven wickets, Christchurch

February 21, 2020 – New Zealand won by 10 wickets, Wellington

New Zealand squad against India

Tom Latham (captain), Tom Blundell, Michael Bracewell (1st Test only), Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffey, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Will O'Rourke, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi (2nd and 3rd Test), Tim Southee, Kane Williamson, Will Young.

India squad against New Zealand

Rohit Sharma (captain), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (week), Dhruv Jurel (week), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav , Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep.

The ones to keep an eye on

Kane Williamson

The Black Caps champions played 15 innings with a century in India, which was his first outing in the middle in 2010. Williamson averages 40.20 in India but should he overcome a groin injury it would be his second Test there in eight years. Williamson started 2024 with three consecutive centuries against South Africa and has since recorded two half-centuries in nine innings.

Virat Kolhi

In 11 Test matches, Kohli hit three centuries against the Black Caps and posted a high score of 211, but has not missed a beat in his last nine Test innings against New Zealand, including a duck in the 2021 Wankhede Test. Kohli is yet to score a century in 2024, which will surely end soon with three Tests against New Zealand followed by a tour of Australia.

Jasprit Bumrah

With 42 wickets in his last eight Tests, Bumrah has a bowling average of just 14.42 in 2024. He only played three Tests against New Zealand, taking just six wickets. And of his 38 Test matches, only 10 have been on home soil, so he will relish the chance to perform in front of home fans.

Ajaz Patel

Remember the last time New Zealand played a Test series in India? Patel joined cricket immortality with 10 wickets in an innings. No doubt he can't wait to see the Wankhede pitch again in the third Test. He should have plenty more overs to bowl by then.