Ahead of Australia tour, India searching for momentum in test series against New Zealand

India will have a keen eye on its upcoming tour of Australia as it takes on New Zealand in a three-test series starting in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

Before the five-test clash in Australia from next month, India plays the Kiwis on home soil in a series that could confirm India’s spot in the 2025 World Test Championship (WTC) final.

The three tests will be played in Bengaluru, Pune and Mumbai. India is currently atop the WTC rankings, and a 3-0 win in this series against New Zealand would assure its spot for the final at Lord’s next June.

After beating Bangladesh 2-0 in the preceding test series , a full-strength Indian squad is once again available for selection. In-form top-order batters or world class spinners — India is spoilt for choice.

India would arguably like to see a few more runs from the likes of Virat Kohli and Lokesh Rahul. The 35-year-old Kohli missed the home series against England earlier in the year for the birth of his second child. Against Bangladesh , he only had limited batting time and scored 99 runs in four innings.

Kohli would certainly hope for more runs against New Zealand, looking ahead to the Australian tour where the cricket great averages 54.08 in 13 tests. Meanwhile, Rahul too had missed most of the English series due to injury and batted only three times against Bangladesh .

Rahul doesn’t keep wickets anymore – Rishabh Pant returned to that role with aplomb against Bangladesh – and thus needs to guard his spot against the waiting Sarfaraz Khan, who scored 200 runs in five innings against England.

Pace bowling is one area of concern for India, with the workloads of its fast bowlers – Jasprit Bumrah , Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj – under scrutiny. The trio is also expected to travel to Australia.

Bumrah has been named vice-captain for the New Zealand series. It is a departure from protocol for India – it doesn’t name vice-captains for home series. Rohit Sharma , however, could miss the first test against Australia owing to personal reasons and thus this move.

Pacer Mohammed Shami has suffered a setback in his recovery from an Achilles injury after the 2023 one-day World Cup and his return to action has been further delayed because of a knee issue.

“Right now, it is very difficult for us to take a call on Shami,” Sharma said ahead of the first test. “He has had a setback to his knee while close to getting fit and it puts him back in recovery. We don’t want to bring an undercooked Shami to Australia. He was supposed to play this series, but we will see at what stage he will be fit for us.”

India is carrying a set of traveling reserves for this series, including young pacers Harshit Rana and Mayank Yadav, as well as pace all-rounder Nitish Reddy. One, or all, could be in contention to participate in this series, as well as be included for the Australia trip.

Additionally, India’s combination – two or three pacers – for the Bengaluru test at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium will depend on weather. Since Monday, the city has seen heavy rainfall and the forecast for the coming days isn’t good either.

For New Zealand, meanwhile, this series is about hitting the reset button.

The Black Caps have already been on a long sub-continental tour. It began with the one-off washed out test against Afghanistan in Greater Noida, India, followed by a 2-0 loss in Sri Lanka .

The transition phase for New Zealand cricket continues with this tough tour of India. Tim Southee stepped down from the captaincy with Tom Latham taking over full-time. Latham has led New Zealand in nine tests previously – all as a stand-in for Williamson.

He leads a young Kiwi side, which does boast a few players who have wide experience of playing in India – Devon Conway, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner and Southee.

Left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel took a record 10-119 in the 2021 Mumbai test. Yet the Black Caps will be wary as they aim to push India in its backyard – arguably the toughest test assignment in world cricket.

While senior batter and former skipper Kane Williamson has been ruled out of the first test owing to a groin strain suffered in Sri Lanka, New Zealand will rely on young gun Rachin Ravindra to propel its challenge.

“In India, we have seen teams do well who have been aggressive towards them, especially with the bat," Latham said. "They have looked to put them under pressure, which is really important, rather than sitting and waiting for something to happen.”