"Kal ka aaya Rahane bhi toss jit gaya" - Fans react after India elect to bat first in first Test versus New Zealand

The inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) finalists India and New Zealand will play a two-Test series to kickstart the 2021-23 cycle. Several key players are sitting out this series for India, and the onus will be on youngsters to step up and deliver the goods.

Talented Mumbai batter Shreyas Iyer received his debut Test cap from legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar just before the toss. Iyer will fill in as a replacement for Virat Kohli in the middle-order for the first Test.

Indian skipper Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and elected to bat on a typical Indian pitch, which will probably offer a fair bit of turn. Team India went in with a bowling combination of three spinners and two pacers. New Zealand have handed a debut to spin bowling all-rounder Rachin Ravindra.

Here are the playing XI's for this Test match:

India playing XI: Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Shreyas Iyer, Wriddhiman Saha (w), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav

New Zealand playing XI: Tom Latham, Will Young, Kane Williamson (c), Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, Tom Blundell (w), Rachin Ravindra, Tim Southee, Ajaz Patel, Kyle Jamieson, William Somerville

Fans were excited to have Test cricket back in India after a while. They took to Twitter to express their views after the toss. Here are some of the best reactions:

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"I have no concerns about my form" - Ajinkya Rahane

Team India's stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane has revealed that he is not thinking too much about his form and is only concerned about contributing to the team's cause in whatever way possible. In a press conference on the eve of the Kanpur Test, Ajinkya Rahane said:

"I have no concerns about my form. My job is to think about how can I contribute to the team and contribution doesn't mean you need to make 100 in every game. 30-40 runs or 50-60 runs in a crucial moment is a very important contribution.

He added:

I always think about the team and never about myself that, 'What lies ahead for me?' or 'What will happen in the future?' I think I am very fortunate and grateful, it's an honor for me to lead the country. So not too much bothered about what will happen. What's there in the future will happen. My focus is to give my best in a particular moment and that's what I am going to try."

New Zealand will be a very crucial series for Rahane as a batter. He needs to score a couple of substantial knocks with several others waiting in the wings to grab any available opportunity.