India vs New Zealand, 1st Test Stats Preview: Players records and approaching milestones

After playing a plethora of T20 matches including the Indian Premier League, T20 World Cup 2021, and the recently concluded T20I series against New Zealand, Team India players will be back wearing the whites against the current World Test Champions Kiwis with whom they lost the ultimate Test in June in England this year. Having failed to qualify for the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2021, new T20I captain Rohit Sharma led the team brilliantly to start his tenure with a 3-0 series whitewash against the Kiwis.

India, who has now lost three back-to-back Tests against the mighty Blackcaps including the all-important WTC final, would love to continue their home dominance in the longest format of the game. The runners-up of the WTC final have won 13 Test series on the trot at home. The last time they suffered a series loss was against the inspired Alastair Cook’s England side way back in 2012.

Since then, the team has won all 13 series in a row including 3-0 thrashing of New Zealand 5 years ago in 2016. Even in their last home series against England this February, after losing the first Test, the Indian team bounced back terrifically to win the series 3-1 as Axar Patel and R. Ashwin created havoc with their spin bowling.

New Zealand, the Champions of the first WTC cycle, would like to break their jinx in Tests in India as they last won a Test match back in 1988. The Kiwis have managed to win just two Tests in their entire history on Indian soil. They were blanked completely when they last toured the Asian country in 2016 as the series ended 3-0 in India’s favour. The Test champions will want to prove that their WTC final win was not a one-off affair and Kane Williamson and his side would be raring to go this time.

Meanwhile, here are the important stats and numbers ahead of the first Test between Indian and New Zealand:

Head-to-head: India has played 60 Tests with New Zealand having won 21 times, losing 13 and 26 clashes have been drawn. At home, team India has a massive edge over the Kiwis as they have beaten them 16 out of 34 times, losing only twice. 16 of those matches ended in a draw. Speaking of the last three encounters, New Zealand has won all three including the biggest Test in June this year.

5 – R. Ashwin is 5 scalps away from overtaking Harbhajan Sigh (417) and becoming the third-highest wicket-taker for India in Tests

1 – Ishant Sharma needs 1 wicket to surpass Zaheer Khan (311) and become fifth-highest wicket-taker for India in Tests

3 – Ajinkya Rahane needs 3 grabs to complete 100 catches in Tests

6 – Cheteshwar Pujara requires 6 runs to reach 6500 runs in Tests

1 – Umesh Yadav, if he plays, will feature in his 50^th Test

86 – Shubman Gill is 86 runs shy of completing 500 runs in Tests

303 – Shreyas Iyer will debut in Tests after becoming a regular member of the limited-overs team. He is set to become the 303rd player to represent India in Tests

4 – Kyle Jamieson is four wickets away from reaching 50 scalps in Tests. Having played just 8 Tests till now, he can become the fastest to 50 wickets for NZ in Tests. Currently, Shane Bond holds the record for achieving it in 12 matches.

2 – Kane Williamson needs 2 fours to reach 800 fours in Tests

5 – Henry Nicholls needs 5 fours to complete 250 fours in Tests

4 – Tim Southee needs 4 grabs to complete 150 catches across formats

6 – Ross Taylor needs 6 catches to reach 350 catches across formats