India try to solve Gill-Shaw question
Hamilton, February 13
The Indians will try to get some clarity on their combination for the Test team when they take on New Zealand XI in a three-day warm-up match, which begins here tomorrow, exactly a week before the first Test.
The two-Test series begins on February 21, and there could be an intriguing contest for at least two spots in the Test XI — Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill are set to vie for an opening slot, while Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are in the race for the spinner’s slot.
After winning the T20I series 5-0 and getting a 0-3 reality check in the ODI series, a red-ball warm-up match will be a welcome distraction for Virat Kohli and Co. before the Tests.
India could not have asked for a better practice game as New Zealand XI has several senior and A team players, including leg-spinner Ish Sodhi, all-rounder Jimmy Neesham, wicketkeeper Tim Seifert, and fast bowlers Scott Kuggeleijn and Blair Tickner.
Gill and Shaw
Facing Kuggeleijn and Tickner will be a test both Shaw and Gill would relish as they try to make a case for their inclusion in the playing XI for the first Test. Gill will be itching to show his skipper that he is ready for the big debut, which is eagerly anticipated among his supporters.
The flat track here will test India’s two frontline spinners, with Ashwin and Jadeja getting a chance to challenge batsmen such as Daryl Mitchell, Tom Bruce and Seifert. A good show here can improve Ashwin’s chances of toppling Jadeja, though that proposition looks distant at the moment.
First-class warm-up
India’s red-ball warm-up matches overseas in recent times have mostly been two-day affairs. Devoid of First-Class status, such matches were about giving everyone in the squad a chance to bat and bowl. The hosting boards often put up a weak outfit for such matches, in order to deny visiting teams a chance to measure up against quality opposition. However, this warm-up game is different as it’s a three-day match and India’s opposition is strong. — PTI
