Rohit Sharma dropped KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav for the second Test against New Zealand in Pune.
India made as many as three changes for the second Test against New Zealand in Pune as captain Rohit Sharma pressed the panic button, or so it seems, in a bid to make a comeback in the series after surprisingly losing the first Test by eight wickets. On expected lines, KL Rahul made way for Shubman Gill, who regained full fitness after missing the first Test in Bengaluru due to stiffness in his neck. India decided to stick with Sarfaraz Khan, who smashed 150 in the series opener, which meant the axe, once again, fell on Rahul.
India’s Rohit Sharma and Kuldeep Yadav(PTI)
There were two changes in India’s bowling department too. Akash Deep was brought in place of Mohammed Siraj after the latter, despite bowling well, somehow, failed to get wickets in his last few appearances.
The real surprise was the selection of Washington Sundar in place of Kuldeep Yadav. Sundar was brought into the squad for the second Test keeping in mind the multiple left-handers in New Zealand’s batting unit. But that he would get to play ahead of Kuldeep and Axar Patel, who was already in the squad, was a bit of a surprise.
Sundar’s inclusion also gives more cushion to India’s lower-order. They now bat as deep as No.9 with three specialist all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin and Washington Sundar in the XI.
India captain Rohit Sharma did not give out details about the rationale behind the three changes but he did talk about the importance of the first 10-15 overs on Day 1.
“When you play a Test match like that, the first session didn’t go our way. But we batted well in the second innings. We take a lot of positives from that and see how we can turn things around here. Always want to find ways to get back into the Test match when you’re behind. That’s what we did. The pitch is a little drier, yes. We do understand how important the first 10 overs are. Three changes – Siraj, KL and Kuldeep miss out. Akash Deep, Washington and Gill come in.
India and New Zealand playing XIs
New Zealand won the toss and opted to bat. They made one change to their playing XI, bringing in left-arm spinner Mitchell Santer in place of injured pacer Matt Henry.
“Surface slightly different to what it was last week. Not a lot of grass. It might produce a bit of spin, as we expect when we come to these parts of the world. Obviously, it was a really proud moment for this group. We celebrated that, but our focus quickly turned to Pune. It’s just about adapting to this surface. Trying to take the confidence we built up from last week,” said Latham.
India vs New Zealand 2nd Test pitch report
Simon Doull and Dinesh Karthik with the Pune pitch report: The colour of the pitch remains the same – black soil in both Bangalore and Pune. On a good length area, it’s a lot more dry and a lot more devoid of grass. The team winning the toss should bat first, and there will be enough assistance for spinners from ball one.
India Playing XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(w), Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah
New Zealand Playing XI: Tom Latham(c), Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell(w), Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ajaz Patel, William ORourke
