IND vs NZ 2024: India's likely playing XI for 3rd Test against New Zealand
By Sreejith CR | First Published Oct 29, 2024, 4:43 PM ISTHarshit Rana has been added to the Indian team for the final Test in Mumbai.
India, having lost the Test series against New Zealand, is gearing up for a pride match on November 1st. India aims to win at least one match to ease their path to the World Test Championship final. India needs four more wins to reach the WTC final. If they fail to win in Mumbai, they will have to win four out of five matches in the Test series against Australia. Winning four Tests in Australia will not be easy for India. Moreover, India must prevent New Zealand from sweeping the series.
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Cricket fans are eager to see if there will be any changes in the Indian team for the Mumbai Test. Indications suggest there might be some changes from the team that played in Pune. KL Rahul might be included in the playing eleven, keeping the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in mind. Sarfaraz Khan, who didn't live up to expectations in the Pune Test, might be benched. Either Rahul or Axar is likely to replace Sarfaraz. Similarly, Akash Deep might lose his place, with Mohammed Siraj or Harshit Rana coming in.
Rana has been added to the squad ahead of the final Test and it would be interesting to see whether the Delhi pacer is straightaway included in the playing XI. The Wankhede track is known to offer pace and bounce and the 1.88m tall speedster's high-arm action could be handy.
India's probable XI for the third Test: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (Wicketkeeper), KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah.
The last time a team whitewashed India in a Test series at home was in 2000 when Hansie Cronje's South Africa defeated Sachin Tendulkar and Co.. India lost by four wickets in Mumbai and by an innings and 71 runs in Bengaluru. India must win at Wankhede to avoid this embarrassment. The poor form of captain Rohit and Virat Kohli is India's main concern. Rohit, who was dismissed for a duck twice in four innings, has managed only 62 runs in the series.
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