India vs New Zealand: All eyes on what top-order batters can provide in tough Test series

CHENNAI: When the BCCI announced the squad for the New Zealand Test series on Friday, there was little surprises in the Indian batting line-up. The bowling, as expected, had its share of changes, and comebacks depending on form and workload. However, the top six, for India, in Tests has been more or less fixed by now.

If everything goes according to plan, India’s starting seven in Wellington on November 19 would read: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja and Dhruv Jurel. And among them, only Pant (2) and Jadeja (3) have played Test cricket in New Zealand before. None of the top four have ever taken guard in a Test match in the country. And therein remains India’s biggest challenge.

In conditions where both seam movement and bounce will be on offer, how India’s top-order settles in will be crucial. Numbers hint as much. In 2009, when India won the Test series in NZ 1-0, the top-three scored 899 runs in three matches including two centuries and five fifties. In 2014, India lost 1-0, and the runs from top-three dropped to 323 at 26.91 average in two matches.

The last time India toured the country in 2020, they had dropped Rahul over form and Rohit Sharma had flourished at the top. But with him getting injured, they went with Mayank Agarwal — who was nine Tests old — and Prithvi Shaw, who had played only two. India were short-handed for experience at the top. And it cost them dearly. The top-three scored 300 runs at 25 average and the scoreline read 2-0 in favour of NZ.

This time, Rahul, despite his middling numbers, comes with a wealth of experience and Yashasvi Jaiswal has played 31 Tests in as many venues. Devdutt Padikkal at No. 3 has played only four Tests. Whether they are able to bat for long hours and sessions together will determine the visitor’s fortunes. Former India head coach Ravi Shastri, who was at the helm during India’s last NZ visit, feels so as well. “I think more important than most tours in this, especially here. Because the major work will have to be done by the top order because that’s the test. The ball will swing, it will seam, and to see those first 15 overs off without losing more than two or three wickets will be critical,” Shastri said in an interaction facilitated by Sony Sports Networks.

It is something New Zealand have always done well at home. Since 2024, the Black Caps top-three average 45.03 at home. On the other hand, India’s top-three averaged 29.51 during the Australia tour in 2024-25 and 39.8 in much flatter conditions in England last year. Shastri believes that India will have to make the most of the three A tour matches. And they are keen to do so, by the looks of it. As many as nine of the Test squad members will be in action including the top-three.

“The fact that the Test team is going early, playing a couple of games is good because New Zealand is just coming out of the winter, the pitches will be fresh. I’ll be surprised if they don’t play in conditions that suit their fast bowlers. So, it’ll be a real test to adapt to the moving ball and to the conditions because New Zealand can be extremely blustery and windy conditions where the ball will not only swing, it will seam around. That’s something they have to adapt to very quickly. India-New Zealand is always a contest, but this team is young, it has a lot of experience as well. They’ll have to adapt to the conditions quickly,” explained Shastri.

However, it will not be easy. Both captain Gill and head coach Gautam Gambhir will have their task cut out for them as they are set to leave midway after the third ODI to prepare for the two Tests. They know the World Test Championship is at stake.

“New Zealand in New Zealand conditions are not a team that’s easy to beat. The only team that has had an upper hand over them over the years is Australia in New Zealand. Otherwise, they’re a difficult team to beat and India will find out that as well when they go there. They have to get their A-game to the table and again, don’t give it away when you’re in. You might have to do the hard yards in the first one and a half hours of batting where runs might not come easily, but you’ll have to graft, adapt, and then make the most of it,” said the former India captain. “For India, it’s an uphill task. I mean, they have to win 90 per cent of the games. That’s the remaining two Test matches in New Zealand and at least four out of five against Australia in India. So, it’s not impossible, but by that time you have to see what these three teams (South Africa, NZ and Australia) have done,” he added.

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