India vs New Zealand, Cricket Score: 1st Test Match, Kiwi bowlers fight back with quick wickets; India 291 for 9 on Day 1

India’s middle order collpased as they managed 291 for 9 at stumps on day 1 of the opening cricket Test against New Zealand at Kanpur.

The match, which happends to India’s 500^th Test, saw Murali Vijay (65) and Cheteshwar Pujara (62) score half-centuries while Rohit Sharma (35) and KL Rahul (32) got out after getting set. Ravichandran Ashwin contributed 40.

For New Zealand, left-arm seamer Trent Boult (3/57) and left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner (3/77) were the successful bowlers. Neil Wagner, Ish Sodhi and Mark Craig got a wicket apiece.

The first Test between India and New Zealand being played at Kanpur marks the 500th Test for India. Earlier in the day, India won the toss and elected to bat.

The picturesque Green Park Stadium at Kanpur is hosting the landmark test for India.

The historic Test match shall be one to remember as BCCI shall be felicitating the former Indian Test captains. So be ready for a star studded fest as former greats shall all be present under one roof at the same time.

Live Cricket Score: Ist Test Match, India vs New Zealand

Here are the live updates:

# India finishes at 286 for 9 at the end of day's play 

# Boult on a roll, gets Shami. What a fight back by Kiwis

# Boult gets Ashwin, India in shatters

# R Ashwin is India's leading run-scorer and wicket-taker in 2016

# Bolt gets Saha in the third session

# Santner removes Rohit to lift Kiwis

# New Zealand takes the new ball

# Kiwi spinners have pull back things 

#India would look forward to some valuable contribution with the bat from Ashwin  

#R Ashwin joins Rohit Sharma at the crease

#Indian middle order is falling like a pack of cards

#Rahane falls prey to Kiwi spinner Mark Craig

#The teams go off the field for tea

#India post 185 for 4 at Tea

#Rohit Sharma joins Rahane in the middle

#Spinner Ish Sodhi scalps Murali Vijay, India in a spot of bother

#Rahane joins Vijay at the crease

#Kohli falls early to Kiwi seamer, Neil Wagner

#The Indian captain, Virat Kohli joins Vijay at the crease

#Pujara dismissed by Santner for 62

#Vijay and Pujara register half centuries, partnership going strong for India

#Vijay and Pujara continue to pile on the runs

#Post Lunch session commences

#India build a solid platform, post 105 on board at Lunch

#After KL Rahul's dismissal, Vijay and Pujara forge a good partnership to steady India

#India lose first wicket, Mitchell Santner dismissed KL Rahul for 32.

#The Indian openers, KL Rahul and Murali Vijay have come out in the middle to kickstart the innings for India. Trent Boult and Wagner have been given the new ball.

#New Zealand would be happy to see overcast conditions and hope that there is enough humidity to get some swing going for their pacers.

#NZ has beefed up its spin attack by playing three spinners besides including two seamers.

#Luke Ronchi gets a place in the playing eleven courtesy his century against Mumbai in the warm up game

Playing XI -

India: 1 M Vijay, 2 KL Rahul, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara 4 Virat Kohli (capt). 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Rohit Sharma, 7 R Ashwin, 8 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 9 Ravindra Jadeja, 10 Umesh Yadav, 11 Mohammed Shami

New Zealand: 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Tom Latham, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Luke Ronchi, 6 BJ Watling (wk), 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 Mark Craig, 9 Neil Wagner, 10 Ish Sodhi, 11 Trent Boult

The Pitch:

Kanpur has traditionally been a high scoring venue. As per the curator Shiv Kumar, the pitch shall be ideal for stroke making in the first two days and as the test match progresses into Day three it shall assist the spinners. 

The surface is pretty hard and hence the cracks won’t open up initially but as the surface withers off the spinners shall come to the party.

There could be some reverse swing for the pace bowlers so the seamers from both sides would be keen on exploiting the old ball.

Probable Eleven:

India – Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (captain) , Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha (wicketkeeper), R Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Shami

New Zealand – Martin Guptill, Tom Latham, Kane Williamson (captain) , Ross Taylor, BJ Watling (wicket-keeper), Mitchell Santner, Mark Craig , Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult, Neil Wagner 

TEAM NEWS:

INDIA:

Budding cricketer KL Rahul is all set make his maiden appearance as an opener. Rahul is likely to replace Shikhar Dhawan. The other opener, Murali Vijay would relish batting on batting friendly pitches.

The middle order looks formidable and experienced with the likes of Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteswar Pujara who all have been among the runs in recent times.

Rohit Sharma shall be looking to prove his critics wrong by letting his bat do the talking.  

Ravindra Jadeja who was simply sensational on the Caribbean tour is expected to play the all-rounders role to perfection.

The Indians might play two frontline spinners in Ravichandaran Ashwin and Amit Mishra and expect Jadeja to compliment the spin attack.

Both Ashwin and Misha have been a potent force on spin friendly Indian conditions.The pace attack has a good blend of pace and swing.

Umesh Yadav and Mohammad Shami who were among the wickets in the West Indies are expected to feature in the playing eleven. Meanwhile seasoned seamer Ishant Sharma has been ruled out of the first test due to viral and his place shall be taken by Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

NEW ZEALAND:

The Kiwis are coming into the series opener at the back of some injuries to their key players. Recent casualties have been all-rounder Jimmy Neesham and pacer Tim Southee. 

Opener Martin Guptill facing a run drought shall like to hit back form. The Kiwis batting line-up has a breath of fresh air with promising talents in Henry Nicoll and Tom Latham who have a great future ahead of them.

The middle order shall be bolstered by the presence of the talented Kane Williamson and experienced Ross Taylor. Meanwhile BJ Watling shall don the keeping gloves.

The Kiwis are expected to beef up their spin attack and play three spinners in Mark Craig, Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi. The Kiwis pace attack has been dealt a severe blow due to some injuries to their frontline seamers. However they still have a decent attack in Trent Boult, Neil Wagner and Doug Bracewell.

HEAD TO HEAD:

Indians have dominated the Kiwis while playing them on home turf. India has an impressive record against the Kiwis in bilateral series played at home. It has been a one way traffic for the home side against the tourist as the Kiwis last victory against the home team was way back in 1998. Since then, India has been overwhelming against the Kiwis by registering 6 wins while the remaining eight encounters have ended in draws.

India’s dominance has largely to be attributed to their spinner who have cast a web around the Kiwis.  The New Zealander's have a reputation of being uncomfortable against spin.

STATISTICS:

IND VS NZ (Overall)

Total Test - 54 Ind Won- 18 NZ Won - 10  Drawn - 26

IND VS NZ In (India)

Total Test -  31 Ind Won- 13 NZ Won - 2    Drawn - 16

Highest Run Getter:

R Dravid (India) -     Matches -  15 Runs - 1659 Avg - 63.80 100's - 6 50's - 6

BB McCullum (NZ) -  Matches  - 10 Runs - 1224 Avg. -68.00 100's - 4 50s - 2

Highest Wickettakers:

RJ Hadlee (NZ) Matches- 14 Wickets-  65  Avg- 22.96 Eco- 2.88 SR- 47.7

BS Bedi (India) Matches - 12 Wickets- 57  Avg- 19.14 Eco- 1.68 SR- 68.1 

Ravichandran Ashwin is on the verge of claiming 200 Test wickets. If Ashwin gets to the landmark, he shall be among the quickest to achieve the milestone.

Neil Wagner is six wickets short of 100 wickets in test cricket.If he does so he shall be the fastest New Zealander to reach the milestone.

Match Prediction:

India would start as overwhelming favourites as they play on home conditions and come into the series at the back of a thumping win in the Caribbean. Meanwhile New Zealand shall have to put their recent loss against the Proteas at the back of their minds and start a fresh.