New Zealand tour of India, 1st Test Preview
New Zealand, in its final part of Subcontinent acclimatization for next year’s World Cup, is in India these days to play a Test series followed by five One Day Internationals.
New Zealand has recently received a 4-0 hammering in Dhaka at the hands of Bangladesh while India is fresh from thrashing http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 in both a Test and a One Day series.
Both the sides will face each other in the first Test of a three-match series tomorrow at Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad. The Black Caps’ plan of treating this Subcontinent tour as an ideal preparation for next year’s ICC World Cup has
already been shattered by the Dhaka boys, who scripted a c**k and bull story last month.
The underdog Bangladesh side emerged as surprising heroes not allowing the tourists to register a single victory in the five-match one-day series, which the Bengali tigers sealed 4-0, with one game being washed out.
And now the tour to India is the final chance for Kiwis to put their World Cup preparations back on track ahead of the 2011 ICC World Cup, which would be jointly hosted by India, Bangladesh and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 on
the heels of mortification in neighbouring Bangladesh would be like going from rags-to-riches.
New Zealand’s recently concluded tour of Bangladesh was mostly ruined by unseasonal rains. Rain deprived the visitors of any warm-up games before the start of the One Day International (ODI) series. Bad weather can be an excuse behind poor
performances from the Black Caps but no justification can be put up against a 4-0 score line.
The Bangladesh debacle saw New Zealand’s ranking plummet to No. 7 in the ICC ODI rankings, raising an alarm, with less than four months away from the prestigious ICC flagship event. The devastating tour resulted in the resignation of New
Zealand Cricket's General Manager, Geoff Allott, who will be leaving the national body at the end of this month.
"Disappointing is an understatement. When you lose 4-0 in a country you're going to be playing a World Cup match, then it's a big concern", said Allott in a tone of concern.
The New Zealand squad touring India has got very few players, who seem to assure anything significant on Indian soil, be it the batsmen or the bowlers. But a few of them could still turn things around for the Black Caps.
The Kiwis expected their batters to feast on Bangladesh’s attack and tune themselves up for the big challenge against formidable India. But unfortunately that did not happen and the side could script only one ton, which
came from the bat of Kane Williamson, and three fifties, scored by Brendon McCullum, Ross http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Grant-c60671 Elliott.
Jesse Ryder, who recovered from an elbow injury, was also included in New Zealand’s scheme of things but the left-handed opener could compile only 58 runs in three innings at 19.33.
While New Zealand Cricket gave the losing squad a chance to redeem themselves with a better performance against India, non-performers are not expected to go off the hook this time and may miss the next trip to the Subcontinent earlier next
year.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 skipper Daniel Vettori, after a successful stint in Bangladesh, claimed seven scalps in four outings and will be leading the spin attack for New Zealand. The Kiwis pace attack during the Test matches will be led by Chris Martin,
who has an experience of 56 Tests in his pocket and finished wicket-less in Bangladesh, while Andy McKay will be providing the raw pace. The leading wicket taker of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mills-c76321, has not been included in the Test squad. Kyle returned home with
eight wickets to his credit
New Zealand, no doubt, are in need of a knee-jerk reaction. But looking at the available resources, especially their bowling attack, it's only their batting that can help them finish the Subcontinent acclimatization campaign on a good note.
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