Opportunity for India to take revenge from New Zealand

Zee Media Bureau/Chaitan Papnai

After a humiliating series defeat of 4-0 in the ODI against New Zealand, now the two-match Test series is to kick-start from Thursday in Auckland at Eden Park. Black Caps must be high on spirits after an emphatic series win over the top ranked ODI team and would certainly like to carry on with their winning momentum in the longest format of the game as well. But, Test cricket is all together a different ball game and India have players like Cheteshwar Pujara, Zaheer Khan, Virat Kohli and even Murali Vijay who can give the Kiwis a tough time in the five-day format. With the red cherry in hand, if Zaheer is capable of asking questions from the Kiwi batsmen then the aforementioned batsmen too can give the NZ bowlers a run for their money. In the two-day practice match against NZ XI, Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane also showed what they are capable of doing while playing in whites. Rohit and Rahane played almost flawless cricket with the bat, till they chose to retired hurt to gave chances to other batsmen. Rohit looked quite confident off the field as well. “My state of mind is really good. Nothing to worry about. I am enjoying my game. It’s a different ball game now. It was good to have got some hits before the Test. So looking forward to the first Test,” Rohit told to leading English daily. If Indian players play according to their reputation, there is no question why they can’t beat the hosts in the Test series, which might give them some solace after their shameful defeat in the ODIs.