***Official New Zealand in India Nov-Dec 2021 Thread***

[hendrix]

Why isn't Boult playing?

Bubble fatigue.

TBH his form has been pretty poor last couple of seasons and I wouldn't have picked him in the playing XI anyway (would still have him in the squad though)

 

[cnerd123]

Yes. Was infuriating.
Also seem to remember a Mark Chapman loving poster that rhymes with thorax insisting it made no difference .

It doesn't. In the last 10 years India have won 18, drawn 2 and lost 2 after winning the toss, compared to won 16, drawn 4 and lost 2 after losing the toss.

 

[cnerd123]

So Rahane is officially captain for the whole series? Nice.

Agree Bharat should take the gloves ahead of Saha. He's 28, Wriddhiman is 37. Time for a transition.

Ashwin + Jadeja + Axar might be overkill, but assume India goes with those 3, I'd probably go with Ishant and Umesh as the quicks for the first test. They should be the freshest. With Rahane and the keeper, that leaves space for just 4 batters. Agarwal and Gill to open, Che Pu at 3, and I'd like to see Iyer in at 5. Keeper 6, Jaddu 7, Ashwin 8, Axar 9, then the quicks.

Batting is a bit thin tbf, hope Che Pu and Rahane find some runs.

 

[TheBrand]

I'd be very surprised if we pick 3 seamers. I think it's going to be 2 seamers + Ajaz and Somerville. Probably Ravindra/Phillips at 6.

Also, Craig bowled the best of the 3 spinners in the first test in 2016 before he got a side strain. Felt like he actually turned a corner and could get decent drift and definitely troubled Pujara, Rahane and Kohli. Also had a couple of chances dropped if I remember correctly.

 

[RossTaylorsBox]

Do I dare dream, friends?

 

[Burgey]

Bubble fatigue.

TBH his form has been pretty poor last couple of seasons and I wouldn't have picked him in the playing XI anyway (would still have him in the squad though)

So he’s #tired. Well, at least our soft ****s arent the only ones bunging this on nowadays

Tired

T I R E D
I
R
E
D

#Indulged.

 

[cnerd123]

Alternatively - play Ishant as the sole quick and let SKY share the new ball, ala India in the 80s

From NZ POV I probably would go with 3 quicks + Ajaz + some part time spin. Somerville's decent but Wagner/Jamieson/Southee are good enough to take wickets in these conditions.

 

[honestbharani]

Lol.. relax guys. Rahul getting injured is silly but I would have rested him for this series anyways. The pandemic world forced a lot of things and we have to be practical about the fact that IPL is the money spinner and every Indian star will be expected to be available for it fully. And @cnerd123 , Virat will come back for the 2nd test in Mumbai and take over captaincy. This is why they sent Vihari and Shaw with the A squad. They felt Agarwal would be the reserve opener and the management wanted to trial Gill at #5 for the one test when Virat is not available. So instead of asking Shaw and Vihari to carry drinks, they felt they would be better served playing in RSA where they are likely to make the squad for the test series.

The team will most likely be -

Mayank
Gill
Pujara (vc)
Rahane (c)
Shreyas
Jadeja
Saha (wk)
Ashwin
Axar
Umesh
Ishant


Although, I would personally open with Pujara and ask Rahane to bat 3, and let Gill bat 4, which is what the team management wanted to try originally. Rahul was coaching Gill in his U19 days and IIRC, he batted 3/4 even in the U19 WC, even though he was generally an opener. So he may have figured out his long term position is in the middle order.

 

[Flem274*]

Gonna ask you to list those series

Because in the series where we won tests e.g. the UAE and SL, our pace bowlers were at least as effective as our spinners if not more so.

In any case, I'm not saying don't pick a spinner at all. I just think a spinner and a spin-bowling allrounder is more than enough given the quality we have available.

This just isnt true. Nz v Pak 2018 and nz v SL 2019 ajaz and somerville were why the bowling dominated, even though the quicks had their moments (boult 4/50 against pak, southee in SL)

 

[Flem274*]

I do agree with your broader point though. Im reluctant to drop a quick.

 

[Gnske]

I wonder how bamboozled Rahane will look in yet another home series against spin.

 

[OverratedSanity]

we have to be practical about the fact that IPL is the money spinner and every Indian star will be expected to be available for it fully

Wtf no i refuse to be apathetic to it

 

[Moss]

How do New Zealand's spinners stack up for the India challenge?

Ajaz Patel holds promise, and there's hope Mitchell Santner can step up

www.espncricinfo.com

Man, Cricinfo loves talking about, if not talking up, Mitchell Santner, saying he’s all but certain to take the second spinner’s role. Good white ball bowler alright but just mystifying how he continues to be rated as a test prospect. I really hope the think tank are on a different page.

 

[Burgey]

Wait, Kohli isn’t playing either? Wtf is this a pub game or something?

 

[sunilz]

Wait, Kohli isn’t playing either? Wtf is this a pub game or something?

Kohli not playing actually makes the team stronger. But Rohit Sharma will be missed.( India's best batsman in last 2 series)

 

[Moss]

This just isnt true. Nz v Pak 2018 and nz v SL 2019 ajaz and somerville were why the bowling dominated, even though the quicks had their moments (boult 4/50 against pak, southee in SL)

I know the rule of thumb has been “do not leave out Wagner” and I’ve generally subscribed to it, but if there’s one place where he’s had less of an impact it’s the subcontinent. NZ did leave him out and win tests in UAE and SL, so I wouldn’t be averse to Southee, Jaimeson, Ajaz, Somerville and Ravindra making up the attack. Bring in Wagner for one of the pacers in Mumbai maybe if it turns out to be a hard grind.

 

[hendrix]

I know the rule of thumb has been “do not leave out Wagner” and I’ve generally subscribed to it, but if there’s one place where he’s had less of an impact it’s the subcontinent. NZ did leave him out and win tests in UAE and SL, so I wouldn’t be averse to Southee, Jaimeson, Ajaz, Somerville and Ravindra making up the attack. Bring in Wagner for one of the pacers in Mumbai maybe if it turns out to be a hard grind.

I generally think that if you're playing Jamieson, you need to play Wagner due to the latter's proven durability.

 

[Burgey]

Kohli not playing actually makes the team stronger. But Rohit Sharma will be missed.( India's best batsman in last 2 series)

Lolwut? Why isn't he playing? WTF is wrong with these *****?

 

[Burgey]

Man, Australia winning the T20 WC has really ruined a lot of these guys.

 

[SteveNZ]

Australia winning anything ruins everything