The Pressure on India to Sweep New Zealand in Test Series: Avoiding Roadblocks on the Path to the WTC Final

Rarely has New Zealand seemed as exposed as they do now heading into a series. Sitting in sixth place on the WTC points table, the reigning champions were convincingly defeated in a two-Test showdown by Sri Lanka just last month. Following that humbling experience, Tim Southee relinquished his captaincy duties; the reins have now been handed over to seasoned batsman Tom Latham. However, in his debut as permanent captain, he will be without the services of Williamson, widely regarded as New Zealand's greatest batsman ever – with all due tribute to the late Martin Crowe.

The groin strain that’s kept the former captain out of commission for now is exactly the kind of cut the Kiwis could have done without as they chase their first Test win in India since November 1988. Indeed, they have only won two of 36 matches in India; allied to that uninspiring statistic is India’s outstanding home record over the last decade. Since the beginning of 2013, India have won 42 and lost just four Tests in their backyard. It’s primarily bettering this record that will be uppermost on the minds of Rohit Sharma and his band of warriors.

The temptation to portray these three Tests in Bengaluru (from Wednesday), Pune and Mumbai as dress rehearsals before the big one, the five-Test series in Australia from next month, might be overwhelming, but while it is inevitable that the think-tank will have an eye and a quarter on the clash of the titans Down Under, they won’t lose sight of the here and now. A clean sweep against New Zealand will practically guarantee India’s qualification to the WTC final, as massive an incentive to refrain from looking longer term as any. A draw or a slipup in any of the three Tests would mean India will be under pressure in the five-match Test series against Australia.

Gautam Gambhir, off to a winning start in Test cricket as the new head coach, reiterated even on Monday afternoon, two days before the first Test, that for now, ‘only New Zealand is on our minds’. “And nothing else,” he insisted. “When you play international cricket, you don't think about how to prepare for the five Test matches of the Australian series. You don’t see that far ahead.”

India have mastered the art of internalising and concentrating more on the brand of cricket they want to play rather than worry too much about the opposition. That’s not to say that they don’t do their homework or that they are unaware of the threats that linger in the New Zealand ranks. It’s just that they are secure in the confidence that if they play at close to their best, it will be very hard for any team to stop them, anywhere in the world but particularly in India.

One of the top items on India’s to-do agenda over the next three weeks will be to ensure that all personnel remain injury-free and find reasonable form before they head to Australia. The Bangladesh series threw up numerous performers with the most heartening development being the return with a bang to Test cricket of Rishabh Pant, who celebrated his second coming with a hundred in his first five-day game for 21 months.

The younger batters – Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill and Pant – filled their boots against Najmul Hossain Shanto’s overmatched men, as did KL Rahul, who seems to have found his mojo as a middle-order batter in the longer format, and spinning all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin. But as they head to Australia, India would like the current captain and his predecessor too to hit their straps. Rohit’s recent Test form has been impressive – he has two centuries in his last four appearances – but Virat Kohli hasn’t been as prolific. His last hundred came 15 months and eight innings back and he has had his issues with spin specifically, if not exclusively. The Kiwis possess an array of spinning riches, including Ajaz Patel, who took all ten Indian wickets in the Mumbai Test of 2021, and will put Kohli through a searching examination if he doesn’t succumb to sucker balls outside off from the quicker bowlers who have wisened up to his propensity to want to put bat on ball early in his innings.

It's said of champion batters that they are one innings away from turning the corner. Kohli himself will be hoping that comes along at his adopted home, Bengaluru, and his beloved Chinnaswamy Stadium where he has produced many a masterpiece for Royal Challengers Bengaluru.