Kudos! Gambhir will be pleased with Kohli getting back among the runs and Jurel stepping up with the big gloves when there was a crisis in the first Test.
| Photo Credit: K. BHAGYA PRAKSH
“We will be closed from 1pm to 4pm!”
It’s a plaque that most shops – even now – proudly display in the old city. The erstwhile pensioner’s paradise may have evolved into a student city and an IT hub but the good old joke about Punekars still draws a wide smile on everyone’s face.
As Rohit Sharma’s men drive down almost 30km from the eastern end of the city to the Maharashtra Cricket Association’s Stadium on the outskirts over the next five days, they will know – let alone the afternoon nap – that they will have to be on their toes for every single ball to keep the series alive.
Being bowled out for a historic low and bouncing back to win the series is a script India is familiar with, even away from home. But losing the opener and still maintaining its enviable series record at home is even more familiar in the recent past.
Thrice in the last seven years has India lost the series-opener — against Australia in 2017 and versus England in 2021 and 2024 — and yet ended up lifting the trophy. This time around India will be wary, but not overtly concerned or defensive, going into the crunch game.
Besides misreading the conditions, India’s combination in Bengaluru also raised eyebrows. It resulted in Washington Sundar – who is in excellent form in the Ranji Trophy – being SOSed for the Pune fixture. Considering the fact that New Zealand has four specialist left-hand batters, India might be tempted to field Washington in place of Kuldeep Yadav.
Rohit and head coach Gautam Gambhir will also have to mull over whether to replace Mohammed Siraj with Akash Deep as Jasprit Bumrah’s new-ball partner.
Most importantly, it’s the middle-order batter’s slot that is going to be the talk of the town. Shubman Gill’s unavailability in Bengaluru resulted in K.L. Rahul and Sarfaraz Khan both getting game-time. With Sarfaraz grabbing the opportunity with both hands and Rahul being unable to impress in both innings, it will be interesting to see if the team management goes with form or preferred choice.
Sarfaraz, after spending an additional day with his newborn boy, batted for almost two hours at the stadium on Wednesday. He will be keeping his fingers crossed to help the team cause after smashing 150 in the second essay last week.
Coming off a historic win in the Garden City, New Zealand will face a selection conundrum, primarily due to the nature of the 22-yard strip.
New Zealand cricketers during a practice session ahead of India vs New Zealand Test match.
| Photo Credit:
K. BHAGYA PRAKSH
With the surface – likely to be a turning track that may also break under the scorching heat as the game progresses – New Zealand is likely to field Isha Sodhi or Mitchell Santner as the additional specialist spinner. It will result in one of the pace troika that shared 17 wickets between them missing out.
Despite the afternoon nap joke, with the third Test match coming to the city, Punekars have bought more than 25,000 season tickets for the game. They will hope that the Indian team will do everything to ensure the spectators do not turn into snooze mode, even in the afternoon!
Published – October 23, 2024 06:40 pm IST
