1st Test: India win toss, opt to bat against NZ, Gill, Akash make way for Sarfaraz, Kuldeep

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], October 17 (ANI): India captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bat against New Zealand in the opening Test at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Thursday.

After the first day got washed out due to rain, India will be keen to maintain its impeccable home record in Test format. With four days left to play for victory, another high-scoring run-fest like the one witnessed in Kanpur may be on the cards. On the other hand, New Zealand will look to bounce back after recently suffering a 2-0 series whitewash against Sri Lanka.

The Kiwis haven’t won a Test series in India in their past 12 attempts. New Zealand’s last Test win in India dates back to 1988 at Wankhede.

India captain Rohit Sharma talked about the changes in the playing XI and said after winning the toss, “We are going to have a bat first. It has been under the covers, and we do understand that it could be slightly sticky early on, but the nature of the pitch is such that you would want to put runs on the board first.”

“You want to get the result as much as we want. We assess where we are and decide what needs to be done as a team. We have played well in the last few Test matches. Fresh series for us, and we want to start well. From the last Test two changes, Gill misses out, and Sarfaraz comes in. Kuldeep comes in for Akash,” Rohit concluded.

Shubman Gill was unavailable for the opening Test due to a neck stiffness.

New Zealand captain Tom Latham said during the time of the toss, “Wicket has been under covers, so hopefully, we can make good use of it early with the ball. Bit of weather around, so we haven’t had a great prep here. Three seamers with Ajaz Patel, and we have two all-rounders who bowl spin too.”

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

New Zealand (Playing XI): Tom Latham(c), Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell(w), Glenn Phillips, Matt Henry, Tim Southee, Ajaz Patel, William ORourke.