5 reasons why New Zealand can beat India in the Test series

The limited-overs phase of India’s tour of New Zealand has culminated as both the nations will now don the numbered whites and lock horns with each other in the ICC World Test Championship series. India and New Zealand have had contrasting fortunes in the newest ICC tournament of the world as Virat Kohli‘s side has won all of its seven matches in the tourney thus far.

On the other hand, New Zealand have only won one match while in their previous series against Australia, the Tim Paine-led outfit blanked them 3-0. The Kiwis will be under pressure to deliver in this series because one more bad performance will virtually rule them out of the race to the ICC World Test Championship final. This tour has been quite eventful thus far as both the teams have recorded a clean sweep each in the ODI and T20I series respectively.

Although India will start as the favourites to win this series, here are 5 reasons why New Zealand can beat India:

1. Momentum on New Zealand’s side

The first and the biggest factor in favour of the home side is their momentum. India had kicked off this tour with a historic 5-0 win in the T20I series and it was widely expected that the Men in Blue would win the 50-overs series. However, some fine performances from the pair of Henry Nicholls and Ross Taylor ensured that New Zealand win the series 3-0.

After being whitewashed in the T20I series, the Blackcaps showed their character as they outplayed India completely in all the ODI matches. These victories would have definitely boosted the confidence of Kane Williamson‘s troops.

Another reason why they would be so high on confidence is that they achieved an unassailable lead in the ODI series without their regular skipper’s services. Thus, New Zealand will have the momentum by their side in this series.

2. Disappointing form of Jasprit Bumrah 

Before India’s limited-overs series, there always loomed a question and that was how will the opposition batsmen overcome the Jasprit Bumrah factor. The right-arm pacer from Ahmedabad had been the team’s X-factor in the past two years as his skills with the white ball helped India establish themselves as the most dominant outfit in limited-overs cricket.

The same was expected from Jasprit Bumrah when he landed in New Zealand but, the likes of Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls and Ross Taylor absolutely dominated him in the ODI series.

Barring the fifth T20I of the first series of this tour, there is not even a single match where Bumrah could make an impact. The fact that the Gujarat-born pacer went wicketless in the ODI series shows that New Zealand can dominate him in the Tests as well.

3. Home advantage for the Kiwis

One of the biggest reasons why New Zealand have such a poor record in the ICC World Test Championship so far is that they have not played even a single home series till now. They played an away series against Sri Lanka where they won one match. Next, they faced off against England in the Test series but, that series was not played under the ICC World Test Championship.

Later, they visited Australia, who were high on momentum after the returns of David Warner and Steve Smith. So, they crushed the Kiwis 3-0. Finally, New Zealand will play their first ICC World Test Championship series at home.

Every cricket team struggles to do well when it visits the other nations and competes with the host country in a Test series. Hence, New Zealand has the home advantage this time around which they will definitely use to trouble India.

4. India’s poor record in New Zealand

Before 2019, India had never won a T20I match in New Zealand. This reflects how dominant the Kiwis had been against the Men in Blue when it came to the shortest format of the game. New Zealand dominated India the same way in Tests as well. Comparing India’s record against New Zealand in Tests played at home and in Tests played away from home will show the clear picture to the fans.

When India last played a Test series against the Black Caps in New Zealand, Brendon McCullum thrived the Indian bowlers with his masterclass batting performances. The Indian bowlers will face a stern test yet again.

While the Indian batsmen had performed decently on their previous tour to New Zealand, it is unlikely that they will be able to replicate their past success once again because this year, the Indian squad is relatively inexperienced.

5. Injuries for India while Trent Boult back for New Zealand 

India suffered a major setback when their key opener, Rohit Sharma was ruled out of the Test series against New Zealand. The Indians will miss the Hitman’s services in this series because the new openers, Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal are looking out of touch. Besides, the team’s third opener, Shubman Gill is yet to make his Test debut.

On the other hand, the devastating duo of Trent Boult and Neil Wagner is back for New Zealand. Boult missed the limited-overs series because of an injury. Hence, his return will be a major boost for New Zealand.

Also, the left-handed pacers have always troubled India. Given that Boult and Wagner will play in the pace-friendly home conditions, they will look to run through the Indian batting lineup with their pace. Hence, New Zealand can finally end India’s winning streak in the ICC World Test Championship.