NZL vs IND 1st Test Day 1 match prediction 21 Feb 2020

New Zealand will take on India in the first of the two Tests at the Basin Reserve in Wellington from Friday.

The much-awaited Test series between India and New Zealand is upon us and we cannot hold on to our excitement any further. India will be playing a Test match after six years in New Zealand and the challenge is different and equally difficult for Virat Kohli and his men. A total of 120 World Test Championship points will be at the two teams’ disposal, it remains to be seen, who picks them up with ease. It definitely won’t be a cakewalk for Team India as it has been so far in the ICC World Test Championship because New Zealand have won 11 Test series since December 2013, losing only two series at home. On top of that the trio of Neil Wagner, Trent Boult and Tim Southee will be seen again on the pitch for the Black Caps. So, plenty of problems for India but they should not forget that they are the number one Test team in the world and they are there at the top because of fascinating long form cricket. Now let’s take a look at few of the markets that I have handpicked for you from this first Test match at Basin Reserve:

India to emerge victorious in the first Test match

At this moment, India are the top Test team in the world and there is no doubt they are, considering the result that they have achieved in the longest format of the game. They have gone on to win all of their six Test matches in the ICC World Test Championship and currently, they are sitting right at the top of the points table with 360 points to their tally. New Zealand, on the other hand, are placed sixth on the ladder with just 60 points from five games. The Kiwis have gone on to lose four out of their last five Tests and that is not a good sign for Kane Williamson and co. because Kohli and co. have won all six of their ICC World Test Championship matches. Moreover, India have not lost their last two Test matches at the Basin Reserve against New Zealand. India have reinforced their batting and bowling unit with the arrival of Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ishant Sharma. Kohli will be pumped to perform and will expect his boys to give out their best against a dangerous Black Caps side. If we are to believe India’s run of form in red-ball cricket, then I don’t think we should even think about backing New Zealand and just put our money on India as Royal Panda is offering odds of 2.20 for an India win.

We will not get to witness a century in the first innings

Yeah, don’t be disheartened with that option because that is the market which is going to fill your pockets with a lot of cash, in fact, exactly double the amount of your investment. I must have my reasons when I am claiming that there will not be a hundred in the first innings of the Test match. Don’t worry, I am going to share them with you right away - Neither India nor New Zealand have managed to score a century in the first innings of the Test match played at Basin Reserve in the last three head-to head occasions. What’s more even more surprising - in the last three Test matches that New Zealand have played at this venue, no batsmen (be it any team), have managed to score a hundred in the first innings. The last time when an Indian batsman scored a century at the Basin Reserve against the Black Caps in the first innings was back in 1998 and it was scored by the then captain, Mohammed Azharuddin. I don’t think that streak is going to be broken in this forthcoming match as well. Royal Panda is offering odds of 2.00 and you should grab it with both hands.

Cheteshwar Pujara to score a half century in the match

The flamboyant long-form veteran is back in the Indian Test squad and he is raring to go out and perform for his captain and country against New Zealand in the upcoming series. In 75 Test matches, Pujara has notched up 5740 runs with an average almost touching 50 including 18 Test hundreds and 24 half centuries, imagine that conversion rate! Pujara has played seven matches against the Black Caps and he averages 54.08 against them, with 649 runs under his belt including two centuries and three fifties. He is an asset to this setup when it comes to playing against the Kiwis. Both the scenarios I have mentioned so far have seemed to work in our favour directly and thus it makes the market safer than before. To add to the safe zone, Pujara scored a 93 in the warm up game against New Zealand XI at the Seddon park in Hamilton a few days ago. Royal Panda is offering odds of 2.10 for the gritty right-hander to score a fifty in the match and the outcome will be inevitable. Therefore, I don’t think you should not be waiting any further to place that bet because you will not get better odds than this in near future for this man!

Ajinkya Rahane to score high

Out of the foray from the white-ball setup, the crafty right-hander has been performing exceptionally well in Tests in the past year or so. It would be a cakewalk for him to score at 29 runs even if he plays half of what the player he is. In the last five innings, his scores are 51, 86, 115, 59, 27, having scored a total of 338 runs at an average of 67.6 runs per innings and has scored north of 28 runs in four of the above mentioned occasions. The stats clearly highlight the form he’s enjoying at the moment.
The Mumbai-based cricketer has played just five matches against the Kiwis, in which he managed to score a total of 509 runs at an average of 63.62 which includes two centuries and a fifty. Having played just three innings in New Zealand, he piled up 162 runs at an average of 54 runs per innings including a century, which was incidentally scored at the Basin Reserve, in Wellington, the venue of the first Test. All the above stats point to only one direction, so place your bets quickly.

Ross Taylor to continue his wrath with the bat

I was a bit surprised when I came across this one, having pitted with odds of 2.74 for a player who has been disastrous while playing at home. If you are still in a dilemma, read along to clear your doubts. In the 2019-20 season, Taylor has played five matches, scored 335 runs at an average of 41.87 and scored a century and a couple of fifties. Having 12 matches against the Indians, the veteran has managed to score three centuries and a fifty. In the last innings he played against India at the venue, he ended up scoring 107 runs. But wait till I give you more stats.
Ross Taylor has been a different batsman when he plays at the Basin Reserve, having played 12 matches at the venue and scored 1226 runs at an average of 64.52 runs which includes three centuries and eight fifties. In the last innings he played at the venue, Taylor scored a 200-run knock against Bangladesh. His scores in the last six matches in the first innings at Basin Reserve – 200, 50, 93, 40, 35, 129, having scored a massive 547 runs at a rate of 91.16 runs per innings and scored at least fifty runs in four of those matches.

Neil Wagner to demolish India’s batting line-up

A mainstay in the Kiwi Test squad for quite some time now and you would be startled to know that he actually has a better record than the more fancied Trent Boult against India. In the four matches he played against the Asians, he picked up a total of 16 wickets with best figures of 4/62. The speedster has been at his peak in the last five matches he played, having picked up a total of 30 wickets with best figures of 5/44. Neil Wagner’s bowling figures in the first innings in each of the last five games he played – 3/66, 4/83, 4/92, 5/124, 3/30, having scalped 19 wickets and was the pick of the bowlers in four of those instances. Is your appetite still not satisfied? I’ll take care of that.
In 29 matches he played in New Zealand, Wagner picked up 135 wickets at an average of 26.40 runs with best figures of 7/39. His bowling figures in the first innings of the last five Test matches he played at the Basin Reserve, his figures are – 4/28, 2/75, 7/39, 3/102, 4/151, having picked up 16 wickets and was the pick of the bowlers in three of those occasions. In the last five matches against India, he scalped 11 wickets in the first innings and was the top bowler once. I am pretty sure you have placed the bet till now.