Mumbai’s unseasonal monsoon could disrupt the first day’s play of the second cricket Test between India and New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium. Not only this, the Wankhede pitch is expected to be bowler friendly due to the rain. Both the teams were forced to cancel their training sessions due to rain throughout the day on Wednesday.
However, the Wankhede pitch is expected to help both the fast bowlers and the spinners in the Test starting Friday. Due to incessant rain, the pitch has been kept covered due to which there will be a lot of moisture under the surface. The extra moisture will certainly help the fast bowlers more than Kanpur but a wicket like this will give a lot of turn to the spinners as well.
Rain is predicted on Friday but both the teams especially India will pray that the weather does not disturb on the second to fifth day. All eyes are also on the combination of the Indian team for this match. Skipper Virat Kohli’s return to the playing XI is almost certain to exclude Mayank Agarwal as the support staff including head coach Rahul Dravid and bowling coach Paras Mahambre have backed Ajinkya Rahane, who has been struggling with form.
Wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha could be ruled out due to a neck stiffness and Srikar Bharat could get a chance to replace him. He can open the innings with Shubman Gill. Considering the conditions conducive to fast bowling, Mohammad Siraj can be included in the team in place of Ishant Sharma or both of them can form a fast bowling trio with Umesh Yadav and in such a situation Axar Patel will have to sit out.
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