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{/source}India defeated New Zealand comprehensively in the first Test of the two-match Test series. It was always expected that India will win the match against the eighth ranked New Zealand, but the manner in which the hosts dominated the Black Caps, were a treat for every Indian fan.

India coming on the back off eight straight losses were relentless and played a perfect match. There was never a moment in the match where the visitors had the opportunity to get back into the match. The pitch also favoured Indians as they first piled up a huge total and then got the Kiwis out quickly in both innings. 

Going into the next match, the hosts will be pretty confident. Their young batsmen did well and bowlers stood up to the occasion. New Zealand on the other hand will have to play miraculously well if they do not want to lose the series. Their batsmen could not handle the Indian spin attack and their bowlers looked tired after the first few overs.

The second Test will be played In Bangalore and Kiwis will be happy with the fact that Bangalore pitch provides good bounce compared to the other ground in India.

Let’s have a look at some of the players who will have a major role to play in the second Test:

India:

Cheteshwar Pujara: This talented batsman couldn’t have asked for a better return to the national team. There was a lot of pressure on Pujara as he was replacing one of the best number three batsmen that the world has seen. Pujara looked very comfortable on the pitch and played some classy shots. Pujara’s knock of 159 runs was very crucial for the Indian team, as the team was under a bit of pressure after losing their three most experienced batsmen.

Virender Sehwag: Sehwag did make 47 runs but he was not comfortable on the pitch. His innings was full of streaky shots and he was lucky to have scored the amount of runs he did. It is a very important series for Sehwag as he has been out of form from a long time. New Zealand possesses an ordinary bowling attack and the two time triple-centurion will be looking to play a big innings.

Ravichandran Ashwin: Ashwin took 12 wickets in the last Test match and that proves that the Kiwi batsmen did not have any answer to Ashwin. He has a tremendous record in India and it is the foreign pitches that Ashwin has found difficult to tackle. Ashwin will be itching to have a go at the Kiwi batsmen once again.

Pragyan Ojha: Indian spinners together took 18 wickets out of 20 and that shows the dominance Indian spinners had over Kiwi batsmen. Ojha took six wickets in the match and most of his wickets were top-order batsmen. Ojha bowled at a perfect pace and used the flight amazingly well.

New Zealand:

Kane Williamson: He was the best batsmen on display from the New Zealand team. Williamson showed a lot of patience in both the innings and his shot-selection was the best from his team. His scores of 32 and 52 might not look substantial but they were pretty effective the way Indian spinners dominated the proceeding.             

Brendon McCullum: McCullum is one of the most experienced Kiwi batsmen and he looked good in both the innings till he was on the crease. In the first innings he was induced into playing a drive by Ojha and was caught at cover. In the second innings McCullum played against his natural style, He was very patient and in the end, it was a bad decision that led to his dismissal. McCullum will know that he will have to score big runs for his team to do well.

Trent Boult: He was the most effective Kiwi bowler in the first match. He bowled with a lot of heart and was rewarded by three wickets. His bowling against Sachin Tendulkar showed that he is a bowler to watch out for. The fact that he bowled well on a pitch that did not provided anything for the pace bowlers will provide him a lot of confidence going into the second Test.

Jeetan Patel: In absence of Daniel Vettori, he is the most experienced spinner for New Zealand. Patel was good in patches, but he was far too defensive in his approach. He hesitated to flight the ball and was looking to stop the run-flow. Patel did pick four wickets in the end but even he will know that he could have bowled a lot better.

By Gaurav Jha

Indian Sports News