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New Zealand has confirmed the Test series against India with one match in hand. India make one change to their playing XI to avoid a whitewash. Mohammed Siraj is playing instead of Bumrah. Rohit Sharma said that Bumrah is not playing as he is not fully fit.
New Zealand captain decided to bat first after winning the toss at Wankhede in Mumbai. Now NZ 67/2 in 18 overs.
India mainly make spin-friendly wickets at home. He did the same this time. But it is as if they are stuck in their own trap. Indian batsmen have had to struggle to play the Kiwi spinners in this series. Many say that the batsmen lack the skills to play against quality spinners. However, the head coach does not agree with that. The determination to turn around is in his voice.
Gautam Gambhir said in a press conference yesterday, "I don't think so." Sometimes the opposing team has to be given credit too. Mitchell Santner was outstanding in the last match. But we will work hard. I will improve more. I don't think our ability against spin has diminished.
However, India's head coach Gautam Gambhir blamed white-ball cricket as the reason for the team's poor performance.
He feels that Indian batsmen have forgotten to play defensive cricket in Tests due to T20 cricket. He said this at a press conference yesterday before the third and final Test against New Zealand.
Gambhir said, 'Defense is the basis of batting in Test cricket. It is associated with playing on flat wickets in T20. Other parties are also suffering from this problem. Because, the more T20 is played, the less everyone will defend.'
India XI: Rohit Sharma (captain), Yashwi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Sarfraz Khan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Akash Deep and Mohammad Siraj.