New Delhi, Thursday, September 22 – Excitement amid Indian fans was huge as the Indian team won the toss and elected to bat first in the 500th Test on Thursday, September 22. The most awaited series between India and New Zealand started today amid loud cheers at Green Park in Kanpur. Both sides looked forward to doing their best as objective is to win and keep the zeal of winning up. Murali Vijay, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha – the wicket-keeper, Ravindra Jadeja, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami made India look strong. Shikhar Dhawan, Amit Mishra and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were not picked in the top Playing XI.
The members selected to be a part of the match were supposed to contribute in the success of the team as much as possible and its glimpse was seen in the first session today when top-order batsmen gave the home side a stable start. New Zealand squad hopes to do well being guided by Kane Williamson. The team has Tom Latham, Martin Guptill, Luke Ronchi, Mitchell Santner, BJ Watling, Mark Craig, Ross Taylor, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult and Neil Wagner. Those to sit on bench are Matt Henry, Doug Bracewell and Henry Nicholls. Kohli invited opponents to bowl first perhaps motto was to total good score, which could be challenging for the Kiwis when they come to bat. The highest format of cricket is to test capabilities of the young Indian cricket team. Since India are playing their 500th Test, renowned guests were present too.
Sachin Tendulkar, who played 40 per cent of the total Tests played by India, expect the young guns to be part of the team for next 8 to 10 years. Here is to mention that Tendulkar played 200 Test matches for India. Mahendra Singh Dhoni also marked his presence. In the midst of cheerful crowd, India started well. Lokesh Rahul and Murali Vijay gave India a kind of start that was required to not let Kiwis feel any sort of ease. Rahul, the 24-year-old opener, found the gaps at the right time to make the ball touch the fences for four times. His innings consisted of a six as well. Santner brought his stint to an end when Watling showed quickness is getting the ball.
The Mangalore born cricketers played a knock of 32 runs facing 39 deliveries with a strike rate of 82.05. The first session belonged to India as 105 runs were pocketed for the loss of one wicket. Kiwis carried on eying wickets but did not get any success further since the next-man in was Cheteshwar Pujara, who carried of displaying a kind of show that was expected from him. If truth be told then Day 1 is crucial in a number of aspects. If a team performs well in the early stage then it becomes easy to get a psychological advantage. India have emerged stronger in the session 2 as well. Vijay and Pujara found the gaps that gave India get some useful boundaries and score in speed.
After 42 overs, India scored 137 runs. Vijay is batting at a score of 51 in 123 balls, with the help of four 4s. on the other end, Cheteshwar Pujara is batting at a score of 50 in 90 balls, inclusive of seven boundaries. Kohli, Rahane, Rohit, Ashwin, W Saha, Jadeja, Shami and Yadav are yet to bat. With six key batsmen, India can think of putting a good total in the first innings. If the lead is good, they can imagine of being on the front. Two half centuries so far have made India build pressure on the visiting squad. The only wicket taken went into the pocket of Santner. New Zealand captain Williamson has been trying different bowling options to break the partnership between Vijay and Pujara. Trent Boult, Neil Wagner, Mark Craig and Ish Sodhi make best efforts to bowl in line and length to dismiss the opening batsman and right-handed batsman from Rajkot as they have already weaved a partnership of 95 runs.
In the remaining overs of the day, it will be interesting to notice how far their partnership goes. People are also keen to notice whether bowling change does any trick or not. India are likely to do every possible thing that make this Test memorable. New Zealand bowlers want to make India suffer batting collapse but the players on the crease are standing rock solid, giving them a tough time. At least four to five wickets are needed to mark a comeback otherwise level of difficulty will be increase for them in the coming days. Kohli is considered run machine. Rahane and Sharma could pose problem for the rivals if opt for attacking mode while taking their time to settle. As of now, it is heart-warming to see youngsters turning up in the ground to show great support to Kohli-led team India.