The opening Test at the Green Park in Kanpur is a tough act to follow, but the second Test at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai has all the ingredients to do one better, if only the rain relents.
It has rained incessantly since early on Wednesday and a team of groundsmen worked relentlessly through Thursday to ensure the pitch remains ready for action. A couple of post-noon spells rendered their efforts -- blowers, scrubs, dryers -- futile.
Though there is a forecast for heavy rains on the opening day of the Test on Friday, those at the stadium insisted that the ‘unprecedented rain’ will stop soon enough and the game will be unaffected. Here’s hoping.
The stakes are high after the opener was drawn in the final session of the Test, not only because of the tension the game evoked but also because Indians are on the backfoot at home and hard-pressed to find a way around the Kiwis.
The visitors don’t look like they’re going to lay low and play coy only because they’re playing India in India. Oftentimes, teams are guilty of losing games even before playing them here, not New Zealand.
But Virat Kohli does love a scrap so this is right in the ballpark for the returning skipper.
Even as he strolled out to the middle to assess the pitch on the eve of the game with head coach Rahul Dravid, batting coach Vikram Rathour and bowling coach Paras Mhambrey, he didn’t look too concerned about prevailing conditions or what’s to come.
“It looks like a typical Wankhede wicket. We expect to have some nice bounce,” said the skipper in the presser which followed. “There is value for all kinds of bowlers at the Wankhede and when you bat, you can get runs as well. It is a great wicket for good cricket and all skillsets are in play all the time.”
He continued: “This is a pitch which demands a lot of discipline, but at the same time, the rewards of the discipline are also much higher in the percentage as compared to some of the other venues.”
True, the team does need to identify the right combination to make the most of the conditions on offer, but where does Ajinkya Rahane feature in that?
Kohli’s tone at the press conference suggested that they might take the not-so-tough call to drop the vice-captain and bring Shreyas Iyer in his place. One Mumbaikar for another even if the former has never played a Test match at his home ground.
Also, ’keeper Wriddhiman Saha is available, but so is KS Bharat!
In this spirit of change, India could well play Mohammed Siraj in place of a tired-looking Ishant Sharma. But that depends on if they want to stay with the spin trio of R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel or drop one in favour of an extra seamer.
New Zealand too have a similar conundrum plaguing them. They played three spinners in Kanpur and that move didn’t pay off. They could, owing to the overcast conditions, inject Neil Wagner into the side and leave out Rachin Ravindra or William Somerville.
Left-arm Ajaz Patel won’t be denied his 'homecoming'. Perhaps, Rahane will be denied his.
With the rain as witness, this Test stands for a lot more than meets the eye.
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