India vs New Zealand Live Score, 3rd Test Day 1: Rohit Sharma-led Team India will aim to avoid a whitewash at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai as they take on New Zealand in the third and final match of the series. Notably, the Kiwis ended India’s 4,331-day unbeaten home series run by securing victories in Pune and Bengaluru.
After a string of changes to the playing XI following the defeat in Bengaluru, it will be interesting to see if Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma make further adjustments for the final Test or stick with the same XI that played in Pune. New Zealand, meanwhile, will once again be without Kane Williamson, who was ruled out of the final match of the series.
Pressure is also mounting on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who have not performed to their usual standards recently. Both Kohli and Sharma have averaged under 40 in Test cricket since 2020.
Squads:
India Squad: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Dhruv Jurel, KL Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj.
New Zealand Squad: Tom Latham (C), Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (WK), Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ajaz Patel, William O’Rourke, Kane Williamson, Ish Sodhi, Mark Chapman, Jacob Duffy, Matt Henry
India vs New Zealand Live: Rohit Sharma reacts to IPL 2024 retention
India vs New Zealand Live: Speaking about his retention for MI, Rohit said, “Since I have retired from the format, I think this is the perfect [retention] spot for me. The players who are representing the national team at the highest level should get the preference. That’s what I believe in and I am quite happy with it,”
India vs New Zealand Live: Gautam Gambhir blames T20 cricket for lack of defence in Test cricket
India vs New Zealand Live: Speaking ahead of 3rd Test at Wankhede, Gambhir said, “Completely comes down to T20 cricket (players being less defensive in Tests). When it comes to successful Test cricketers, you look at Virat, all the great players who have done well for a long time, they have had a good defence. The foundation of Test cricket is good defence. Batting on flat pitches and T20 cricket has caused it. We need to keep working on our game,”
India vs New Zealand Live: ‘Gautam Gambhir will soon learn’ says Ravi Shastri
India vs New Zealand Live: Speaking during commentary in the 2nd Test, Shastri said, “New Zealand have beaten them (India) handsomely in both the Test matches. It’s food for thought (on series loss). He (Gambhir) has just taken over the job. It is never easy being coach of a team that has such a big following. It is still early days in his career as a coach. But he’ll soon learn,”
India vs New Zealand Live: ‘Virat Kohli is like a duck’; former selector on VK’s preparation for BGT
India vs New Zealand Live: Former India selector MSK Prasad while speaking on Star Sports said, “Virat Kohli is like a duck getting into the water when he goes to Australia. He loves these conditions and probably he must be eagerly itching to just finish off this Wankhede Test match and then go and play in Australia because he loves that,”
India vs New Zealand Live: Ajaz Patel says ‘Mumbai is special…’
India vs New Zealand Live: Speaking at a press conference in Mumbai, Ajaz Patel said, “Mumbai is a special place for me, not only because I was born here and have family ties, but because Wankhede was the scene of my greatest cricketing achievement. After taking that 10-wicket haul, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever play here again. I’m grateful to the BCCI for scheduling this game and allowing me to return to what feels like home,”
India vs New Zealand Live: ‘We don’t curate pitches’ says Abhishek Nayar
India vs New Zealand Live: Speaking ahead of 3rd Test, India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar said, “I wish we could curate pitches, but we don’t. The curators do. Whatever we’re provided with, we go on and play (whether) that’d be a pitch that seamed or a pitch that turned. As cricketers and as a team, we try and play what we’re provided with. We don’t try and get conditions according to what we want.”
India vs New Zealand Live: IND are ‘shell shocked’ says Tom Blundell
India vs New Zealand Live: Speaking to SEN cricket, New Zealand’s Tom Blundell said, “When we first came over, I think they had a slogan on TV saying five-nil for their home summer, or something along those lines,”
“I am pretty sure they wrote us off coming after Sri Lanka. But I think they are pretty shocked in terms of what we have achieved, and how we have come out and competed and played some really good cricket to beat these guys – one of the best teams in the world… I think they are a little bit shell-shocked in terms of what has happened,” Blundell added
India vs New Zealand Live: Gautam Gambhir confirms Harshit Rana will not play Mumbai test
India vs New Zealand Live: India head coach Gautam Gambhir at a press conference ahead of 3rd Test said, “I don’t know where you are getting this news from. He is not included in the squad. He has just come here to work with Morne. So that he is prepared for Australia. We want to use this time,”
