India take on New Zealand at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad. Orthodox Batsman V V S Laxman will be missed by team India on this important day. Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir need to fill the void created by the retirement of two specialist batsmen Rahul Dravid and Laxman. “One of the ways to look at it is to look ahead for the future. These two are great players and we will miss them on the field,” Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni spoke to media ahead of the series. The skipper banks on the youngsters much, to make a turn around for them.
On the other hand New Zealand captain Ross Taylor admitted that India would be tough to beat at home, with or without the orthodox duo Dravid and Laxman. Team India won the toss and elected to bat.
The second Test will be played at Bangalore from Aug 31. Vizag and Chennai will host the T20 matches Sep 8 and 11.
Two Indian teams will take over two New Zealand teams at different venues, on Thursday. Firstly the seniors will play in Hyderabad. And the Under 19 team will play the semi-finals of the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup at Townsville, Australia. At the moment India has just finished at 209/9 runs. Wishesh wishes both the teams, 'all the very best.'
(With inputs from internet-AW AarKay)
