The first Test between India and New Zealand, which begins at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday, may be reduced to a suspended start due to inclement weather that is likely to put ground staff on edge.
Continued cloud cover and thunderstorms were expected, with a chance of rain throughout the five days.
According to a local weather portal, Bengaluru is expected to experience ‘mostly cloudy skies and heavy rain’ from October 16 to 18, with rain expected to continue for the last two days of the match, although the forecast has eased somewhat.
India, who beat Bangladesh 2-0 in the home Test series before hosting New Zealand, are currently top of the World Test Championship (WTC) rankings.
Speaking to the media on Monday, India coach Gautam Gambhir said he had warned his players not to become complacent after their side won 18 consecutive Tests at home since 2013.
“New Zealand are a completely different challenge. They are a very good team with high-quality players. They have players who can hurt us and also do things for them. So we respect them, but we No one should be afraid, we have to switch on from the start and it is the support team’s responsibility to keep the players switched on, whether we are batting or bowling.
India are scheduled to play eight more Tests before concluding their campaign in the 2024-25 WTC cycle.
After the three-Test series against New Zealand, India will travel to Australia for the much-anticipated Border Gavaskar Trophy, which will be contested over a five-Test series for the first time.
The WTC finals will be held at Rhodes in June next year.
