Haren
IND vs NZ 3rd Test Weather: India will look to avoid a whitewash as they take on New Zealand in the third and final Test of the 3-match series at Wankhede on Friday. With the Kiwis already having the series in the bag after shockingly defeating the hosts in Bengaluru and then Pune, all eyes will be on the famed India batting lineup to at least save a shred of dignity in Mumbai.
There’s also the added pressure of keeping themselves alive in the contention for a place in the World Test Championship final. With 6 Tests left and 5 of them in Australia later in November, India will need to win at least 4 to keep themselves in the hunt for their maiden WTC trophy.
Predicted XI:
India XI: Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Washington Sundar, Akash Deep, Mohammad Siraj
Player to watch out for: All eyes will be on Virat Kohli and his ability to play left-arm spinners in another rank turner in Wankhede before India fly off to Australia for the upcoming Border Gavaskar Trophy in November. With Kohli as well as skipper Rohit failing to spark to life in the New Zealand series, this might be the last chance for them to find some semblance of form before the series Down Under.
New Zealand XI: Tom Latham, Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee/Matt Henry, Will O’Rourke, Ajaz Patel
Player to watch out for: A rank turner is expected to be in play at Wankhede which will suit new Zealand’s Ajaz Patel just fine. Remember, this is the ground where the Kiwi spinner took 10 wickets back when the two sides met in 2021.
Squads:
India Squad: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma(c), Virat Kohli, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant(w), KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Shubman Gill, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Akash Deep, Dhruv Jurel
New Zealand Squad: Tom Latham(c), Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell(w), Glenn Phillips, Matt Henry, Tim Southee, Ajaz Patel, William ORourke, Kane Williamson, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Mark Chapman, Jacob Duffy
Pitch report: The pitch is a lot drier than usual which will play right into the hands of the spinners. Expect plenty of tuirn and bounce for the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar as well as Patel ands Mitchell Santner.
Weather report: According to AccuWeather, the conditions are expected to be humid on Friday with a chance of a thunderstorm in the afternoon. The next 4 days, however, will be conducive for the match with no possibility of rain.
