India would kick start their 2016-17 home season with a three-match Test series against New Zealand, the squad for which is likely to be picked on September 12. The games would be held at the Green Park, Kanpur (September 22-26), the Eden Gardens, Kolkata (September 30-October 4) and the Holkar Stadium, Indore (October 8-12). Currently placed 2nd in the ICC Test Rankings, India would look to clinch the top spot, to which they came tantalisingly close, before eventually losing out to Pakistan, as the last Test of the previous series that they played – against the West Indies was abandoned due to a wet outfield.
However, their quest for the No. 1 spot is not going to be laid with roses, as a tough New Zealand side would look to win a Test series in the subcontinent, a feat that not many teams from outside the Asian realms have been able to achieve. The last time that the Kiwis toured India, their performance was disappointing, to say the least, as they were clean swept in the two-test series 2-0, but did manage to salvage some pride by winning the T20 series 1-0.
However, there were some promising performances by the New Zealanders in that series as well, the four best of which have been enlisted below.
#4 Kane Williamson
New Zealand’s best batsman today was only a 22-year-old youngster who had made his Test debut during the 2010 tour to the subcontinent when New Zealand last toured India in 2012. However, regardless of his age, Williamson impressed in the series scoring 114 runs from 2 Tests with one half-century.
His top score of 52 came in the second innings of the first Test in Hyderabad, wherein New Zealand were following on after their first innings debacle, as they were bowled out for 159 in reply to India’s mammoth first innings total of 438. However, Williamson’s fifty was not enough for the Kiwis, as they failed to save the game and were bowled out for 164 in the second innings, thereby losing the match by an innings and 115 runs.
Since then, however, Williamson’s career has progressed by leaps and bounds and he is currently rated amongst the best Test batsmen in the world, alongside Virat Kohli, Joe Root and Steven Smith. The 26-year-old would also be leading his team this time, and the added pressure of captaining the side may affect his batting. However, considering the class player that Williamson is, he must be able to handle the two jobs assigned to him simultaneously.
#3 Trent Boult
One of New Zealand’s fast-bowling spearheads, Trent Boult had a decent outing the last time that he came to the subcontinent. Boult picked up 5 wickets from two Tests, with the best performance of 3/93 and bowled with an economy rate of 3.69. However, his bowling average of 49.40 wasn’t as impressive.
Boult’s career, back then, was only one-year-old, as he had made his Test debut against Australia in Hobart last summer. Since then, the left-arm quick has made a name for himself as one of the fastest Test bowlers around the globe and has impressed one and all with his pace and accuracy. Consequently, he has 158 wickets from 43 Tests at an average of 29.32.
The challenge presented by the Kiwi would be sterner this time and the Indian batsmen must be prepared for some chin music, as with his raw pace, Boult is more than capable of taking the pitch out of the equation.
#2 Ross Taylor
The most experienced member of the Test squad to tour India this time, Ross Taylor, was New Zealand’s best batsman the last time around, as he scored 157 runs from 2 Tests at an average of 39.25 and a strike-rate of 72.68 with one century. Taylor’s best performance of the series came during the 1st innings of the second Test in Bangalore, wherein he scored a magnificent 113 to guide New Zealand to a solid first innings total of 365.
His innings, however, wasn’t enough to help New Zealand draw level in the series – after having lost the first Test in Hyderabad by an innings and 115 runs – as Virat Kohli scored a century and a half-century in two innings thenceforth, and was helped by Ravichandran Ashwin’s five-wicket-haul in the second innings – who ensured that NZ could manage only 248 in their second innings – in taking India to victory by 5 wickets.
Taylor’s run-tally, however, remained one of the highlights of the series and he finished as NZ’s top run-getter. Since then, the right-handed batsman has only matured and scaled a top individual Test score of 290 against Australia last year.
#1 Tim Southee
The most experienced bowler in the visitor’s pace attack, Tim Southee, played only one of the two Tests on his last tour to India but that one game was enough for him to make a mark in the series, as he picked up 8 wickets in the second Test in Bangalore. This eight-wicket-haul included a performance of 7/64 in the first innings, that helped New Zealand bowl India out for 353, 12 runs short of NZ’s first innings total of 365.
However, Ravichandran Ashwin turned the tables on the visitors, who had started hoping for a series-levelling victory in the 2nd Test, as he picked up a five-wicket haul of his own that restricted NZ to 248. In the second innings as well, Southee got the prized scalp of Sachin Tendulkar, but by then it was too late. Virat Kohli’s 51, along with his century in the first innings helped India scale the target of 261 with 5 wickets in hand.
Southee has become the leader of the pack since then, and his current Test tally stands at 177 wickets from 52 Tests at 32.63. His performance of 7/64 in Bangalore, 2012 still remains as his best Test bowling performance, and the right-arm pacer would look to better it on this tour.
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