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The first Test between India and New Zealand beginning at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday may be reduced to a stop-start affair by the inclement weather that is likely to keep the ground staff on their toes.
Consistent cloud cover and thunderstorms have been forecast with a chance of rain on all five days.
According to the local weather portal, Bengaluru is expected to experience “generally cloudy sky with heavy rain” from October 16 to 18, while the forecast eases a little but stays rainy for the last two days of the match.
India, who swept Bangladesh 2-0 in the home Test series before welcoming New Zealand, currently sit on top of the World Test Championship (WTC) table.
Talking to the media on Monday, India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir said he has cautioned his boys against complacency, having won 18 Tests in a row at home since 2013.
“New Zealand is a completely different challenge. They’re a very good team with high-quality players. They’ve got players who can hurt us and do the job for them as well. So, we respect them, but we don’t fear anyone. We need to be switched on from ball one. And that is the responsibility of the support staff to keep the players switched on whether we are batting or bowling first,” said Gambhir.
India are scheduled to play eight more Tests before concluding their campaign in the 2024-25 WTC cycle.
After the three-Test series against New Zealand, India will travel to Australia for the much-anticipated Border Gavaskar Trophy, which will be contested over a five-Test series for the first time.
The WTC final will be played at Lord’s in June next year.
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