India will take on New Zealand in the first of the two-match Test series. The encounter will be played at the Basin Reserve at Wellington and will get underway on February 21. The limited-overs leg of the tour witnessed a nail-biting contest between the two sides and one can expect a similar show in the longest format of the game too. Virat Kohli and Co are currently the top-ranked Test side and haven’t lost a Test series since the last one and half year. However, New Zealand have a brilliant Test record at home and they will certainly put up a great challenge. Meanwhile, you can scroll down to get the direct link of scorecard and ball-to-ball update of the match. New Zealand Vs India, Cricket Score 1st Test Match.

Kiwis registered a 1-0 triumph, the last time when these two sides locked horns in a Test series on New Zealand’s soil.  So, the home side will certainly be aiming to replicate the history while the visitors will aim the opposite result. The likes of Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Ishant Sharma have been breathing fire with the ball in the longest format of the game and will be critical for their side’s success. However, they will be up against the likes of Ross Taylor and skipper Kane Williamson who are touted to be two of the best batsmen of the modern era. You can click here to get the live scorecard of IND vs NZ match.

The Wellington track is known to assess the fast bowlers. So, assessing the conditions will not be easy for the visiting side. However, India has the luxury of Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane in the middle order who can give a tough time to any bowling line-up.

Along with the series win, both the sides will also have an eye on World Test Championship points table in which India are placed at the pinnacle with 360 points while the Kiwis have occupied the sixth place with 60 points.

Squads:

New Zealand: Kane Williamson (c), BJ Watling (wk), Tom Latham, Tom Blundell, Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, Colin de Grandhomme, Kyle Jamieson, Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Ajaz Patel, Daryl Mitchell, Matt Henry

India: Virat Kohli (c), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Hanuma Vihari, Jasprit Bumrah, Navdeep Saini, Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 21, 2020 03:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).