India eye right selection calls to counter Kiwis' spunk in 2nd Test

PTI Pune: Jolted by an unexpected loss on home turf, star-heavy India will look for right balance in the line-up to counter- attack against a spunky New Zealand in the crucial second Test beginning here on Thursday. After being shot out for an embarrassing 46 in the first innings at Bengaluru, India's resolute show in the second innings could not prevent an eight-wicket pounding which saw the top-ranked team in the World Test Championship table dropping points even though it continues to hold the top spot. Winning the next two Tests will be first priority for Rohit Sharma and his men before they hit the Australian shores for a five-Test affair next month.

With India in a spot of bother, focus has undeniably been on the nature of the pitch here at the MCA Stadium here. It does not have grass cover and is composed of black soil to negate the bounce which New Zealand extracted in Bengaluru. India's free-flowing batters cut a sorry figure when William O'Rourke and the seasoned duo of Matt Henry and Tim Southee served a wake up call which no one saw coming on a pacefriendly track that was admittedly misread by Rohit despite overcast conditions. Preparing a rank turner could be one way out of the mire but it has backfired on India twice in the past. Australia hammered them by a monumental 333 runs here eight years ago while the same team handed a nine-wicket defeat to them in Indore last year. With Shubman Gill priming for a comeback, one among KL Rahul and Sarfaraz Khan will have to make way.

Coach Gautam Gambhir has expressed his desire to give the latter a long rope but Sarfaraz has made a strong case with his second innings 150 in Bengaluru. One could say a big score for each of the two seniors, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, is around the corner. The latter, especially, would be keen to draw from his 254 not out here in 2019-20, which paved the way for an innings and 137-run thrashing of South Africa. By his own lofty standards, Yashasvi Jaiswal endured twin failures in the Bengaluru Test and the young batter looked to iron out his flaws when he had multiple stints in the nets. As much as the Indian camp values Rahul's credentials in Test cricket, the right-handed batter hasn't looked his best and runs haven't come off his bat on a consistent basis. The Karnataka batter is locked in the fight for a spot against a red-hot Sarfaraz, who followed his 222 not out in the Irani Cup for Mumbai with a superlative 150 in Bengaluru, helping India fight against all odds. Rishabh Pant kept wickets for a short period towards end of India's training session on Tuesday but it remains to be seen if he is 100 per cent fit to endure match workload.

India's perennial problem of plenty also goes along with ensuring their players are adequately rested as well as primed for future challenges, but on these counts it is unlikely that Jasprit Bumrah will get some time off given a series-levelling win is much-needed here.

Pant set to keep wickets: Gambhir

Rishabh Pant has "no injury concerns" and is set to keep wickets for India while the team will decide on Jasprit Bumrah's workload after the second Test against New Zealand starting here on Thursday, said head coach Gautam Gambhir. Pant copped a blow on the second day of the opening Test in Bengaluru and was replaced by Dhruv Jurel behind the wickets. Pant returned to score a fine century but did not keep wickets.

Gambhir backs under-fire KL Rahul

India head coach Gautam Gambhir on Wednesday threw his weight behind under-fire batter KL Rahul, saying it's the team management's opinion that matters and not the criticism that he is facing on social media. Rahul was dismissed for a duck in the first innings of the opening Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru and made 12 in the second essay as the hosts lost the game by eight wickets. But it appears Gambhir is ready to give him a long rope. "Social media does not matter one bit. What the team management and leadership group thinks is very important. He is batting really well, had a decent knock in Kanpur (against Bangladesh on a difficult wicket," Gambhir told reporters on the eve of the second Test when asked about Rahul's place in the team. Rahul had managed a 68-run knock in the first innings of the Kanpur Test against Bangladesh.