New Zealand are 2-0 down in the Test series against India and will be going into the third Test with a pretty low morale. The team is struggling to adapt to the Indian conditions as their batsmen have failed to tackle the Indian spinners. However, the bowlers have been far better in their performances.
The second Test at Kolkata turned out to be a disaster for the Kiwis even before it started as their captain, Kane Williamson was ruled out due to illness. Ross Taylor captained the side that went to lose the match by 178 runs.
Williamson had a good game at Kanpur as he managed to score 75 in the first innings and 25 in the second.
The Blackcaps are currently in Indore, training for the third Test which is scheduled from 8th to 12th of October.
Speaking at a press conference, New Zealand's bowling coach Shane Jurgensen hinted at the return of Williamson for the third Test.
“It’s looking positive. Final confirmation on that will probably be tomorrow. We trained today and he did some batting and had a decent hit and a run-around. We will have another look at him tomorrow but it looks positive”, Jurgensen said.
Also read: India vs New Zealand 2016: Sick Kane Williamson fails to train ahead of the second Test
New Zealand have already lost a number of key players due to injuries. Tim Southee, Jimmy Neesham and Mark Craig being the notable ones.
With the possibility of Williamson coming back for the third Test, the team would be hoping that their batting unit comes up with a better performance. There are 4 batsmen from the New Zealand side that are featuring in the top 10 run-getters of the series so far.
Williamson has scored 100 runs in the series so far with an average of 50.00.
Jurgensen was positive ahead of the third Test as he said that, "There has been a lot of positives out of the first two Test and that is what we are focusing on. Teams have come here previously and it is hard work for all nations. It’s a very unique and challenging place to play and a very special place to play. We’ve got one test to go and right now that is the most important thing. We’ve got a lot to play for."
With the captain set to return, the New Zealand team would be looking to put a better performance in the third Test before going into the ODI series.
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