2nd Test: New Zealand Elect To Bat First Against India; Akash, Washington & Gill Come In

Home

Sports

2nd Test: New Zealand Elect To Bat First Against India; Akash, Washington & G...

by Shambhu Datta Mishra

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

India are looking to bounce back and square the series after New Zealand won the first Test in Bengaluru by eight wickets

New Zealand skipper Tom Latham said pacer Matt Henry is out with a glute niggle and left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner replaces him in the playing eleven

Pune, Oct 24: Akash Deep, Washington Sundar and Shubman Gill have been included in India’s playing eleven as New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat first in the second Test at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium in Pune on Thursday.

India are looking to bounce back and square the series after New Zealand won the first Test in Bengaluru by eight wickets. On the other hand, New Zealand, currently leading three-match series 1-0, are looking to do which no other team has managed to do so since 2012 - win a Test series in India.

New Zealand skipper Tom Latham said pacer Matt Henry is out with a glute niggle and left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner replaces him in the playing eleven. “Surface slightly different to what it was last week. Not a lot of grass. Might produce a bit of spin as we expect when we come to these parts of the world.”

“Obviously a really proud moment for this group. We celebrated that but our focus has quickly turned to Pune here. It's just about adapting to this surface. Trying to take the confidence we built up from last week.”

With an aim to save their series winning streak at home, India have brought in Akash, Washington and Shubman, who missed the Bengaluru Test due to neck stiffness, in place of Mohammed Siraj, KL Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav respectively.

India skipper Rohit Sharma said he would have batted first as well if he had won the toss. “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. Pitch is a little drier, yes. We do understand how important the first 10 overs are,” he said.

Playing XIs

India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Akash Deep and Jasprit Bumrah

New Zealand: Tom Latham (captain), Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (wk), Glenn Phillips, Tim Southee, Mitchell Santner, Ajaz Patel and William O'Rourke

(IANS)

Read more Sports News

"Govt Is Prepared," Says Deputy CM Kanak Vardhan On Severe Cyclonic Storm Dana

by Utkalika Mohanty

"Govt is prepared," says Odisha Deputy CM Kanak Vardhan on severe cyclonic storm Dana

Bhubaneswar, Oct 24: Odisha Deputy Chief Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo on Thursday said that the government is fully prepared and all the concerned departments and staff are ready to deal with any situation that arises due to severe cyclonic storm Dana's landfall.

Speaking to ANI in Bhubaneswar, Odisha Deputy CM Deo said, "The Government is prepared. All concerned departments of the Government are in position and all officers & workers of the various departments of the Government are in place and ready to tackle any eventuality...

Each and every department of the Government, including the Chief Minister, Urban Minister, Revenue Minister, everybody is seized of the situation and we are taking whatever necessary steps that need to be taken at the ground level. Rather than creating a fear psychosis amongst the people, we should be more proactive and give justice to the people..."

India Meteorological Department Director General Mrityunjay Mohapatra said that severe cyclonic storm Dana's most adverse impact will be over Odisha followed by West Bengal coastal districts.

Speaking to ANI in Delhi, IMD DG Dr Mrityunjay Mohapatra said, "The cyclone Dana intensified into a severe cyclonic storm last midnight and moved north north-westward and today in the forenoon it is lying centered about 200 km southeast."

"The most adverse impact will be over Odisha followed by West Bengal coastal districts, but after landfall, it is expected to move west-northwestward and hence there could be an increase in rainfall activity over south Jharkhand. We also issued heavy to very heavy rainfall warnings for south Jharkhand districts at isolated places. There could be a wind speed of 40 to 50 Km/hr in Jharkhand and 50 to 60 Km/hr in interior districts of Odisha on the 24th and 25th," he added.

Earlier today, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi haired a high-level meeting to review the preparedness for severe Cyclone Dana at Lok Seva Bhavan in Bhubaneswar. Minister of Revenue and Disaster Management, Suresh Pujari was also present at the meeting.

Odisha Minister Krushna Chandra Mahapatra said that everyone is on alert in the areas where the cyclone is expected to make landfall.

Speaking to ANI, Odisha Minister Mahapatra said, "All the ministers have been given responsibilities to look after the affected areas. One IAS officer to each district has also been deployed... All are alert in those places where the cyclone is expected to make landfall. Officers are working sincerely, our party workers are also working."

Evacuation started earlier today for people living in Dhamara and Bhadrak in Odisha, with people being brought to the cyclone shelter, according to officials.

Additionally, teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) in both Odisha and West Bengal have been placed on standby.

Meanwhile, the Indian Navy is preparing to conduct Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations in anticipation of the severe impact of Cyclone Dana along the coast of Odisha and West Bengal, according to officials.

Eastern Naval Command, in coordination with Naval Officers-in-Charge (NOIC) in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and West Bengal, has activated a comprehensive disaster response mechanism. The command is working closely with units such as the Base Victualling Yard (BVY), Material Organisation and the naval hospital INHS Kalyani to provide essential supplies and medical support if sought by the State administration, Indian Navy said.

(ANI)

Read Odisha News

2nd Test: Washington, Ashwin Amongst Wickets As New Zealand Reach 201/5 At Tea

by Hemanta Pande

Pune, Oct 24: Ravichandran Ashwin took his third wicket of the innings while Washington Sundar picked two scalps in the last three overs of an engrossing second session as New Zealand reached 201/5 in 62 overs at tea on day one of the second Test against India at the MCA Stadium here on Thursday.

Resuming from 92/2 in the post-lunch session, Devon Conway started with a cracking cover drive off Jasprit Bumrah to get his fifty. He then capitalised on width from Bumrah’s deliveries by punching off the backfoot and opening the face of the bat late to get back-to-back boundaries.

From the other end, Rachin Ravindra began to find his groove by using Bumrah’s pace to run through the gap between slip and gully for four. Conway continued to be impressive with his drive and reverse sweeps, before poking at a short on a spinning away ball from Ashwin, with the edge caught by Rishabh Pant.

Ravindra took over the run-scoring mantle by lofting Ravindra Jadeja for six, before beautifully flicking Akash Deep for four more. After getting his fifty with a stylish flick going through the hands of short mid-wicket for four, Ravindra had two more boundaries coming off Akash via cut and outside edge.

The 59-run stand for the fourth wicket between Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell was brought to a halt by Washington, who turned the tide for India at the fag end of the second session with his dip and drift. Washington got a tossed-up delivery to turn away sharply from the middle stump and hit the top of the off-stump.

On outclassing Ravindra with a peach of a delivery, Washington leapt highly in the air. At the stroke of tea, Washington again brought joy to himself and the Indian team by getting a length ball to grip and turn sharply into Tom Blundell, who aimed for a flick but was castled through the gate. Big wickets from Washington in the last 10 minutes of the second session mean India have set themselves a chance to bowl out New Zealand in the final period of the day.