IND vs NZ: Bengaluru weather forecast for day 1 of 1st test (Wednesday, 16 October)

The 1st IND vs NZ test will be played at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.

After whitewashing Bangladesh 2-0 in the test series and 3-0 in T20Is, the Indian cricket team’s home season will continue as they host New Zealand for a three-match test series, starting on October 16.

The first test will be played at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, followed by matches at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune, and Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

This series is vital for India in the context of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25. Currently, India are at the top of the ICC WTC standings with PCT of 74.24 (percentage of points won). They would want to get close to sealing a place in the final by hammering New Zealand 3-0 before they fly to Australia for a five-match test series.

Meanwhile, New Zealand, with PCT of 37.50, are all but out of the race to the WTC final.

The first test in Bengaluru, though, is under serious threat of being heavily impacted by rain.

IND vs NZ: Bengaluru weather forecast for day 1 of 1st test (Wednesday, 16 October)

According to AccuWeather, a thick cloud cover with a thunderstorm in spots in the afternoon is forecasted for Wednesday, 16 October in Bengaluru. There is a low chance of rain in the morning session, though overcast conditions will remain. There is 51% rain prediction at 1 PM. So day 1 of the IND vs NZ 1st test could be interrupted by rain.

Persistent rain in Bengaluru on Tuesday morning meant that the Indian team couldn’t hold their training session. There was rain in Bengaluru throughout Monday night and Tuesday morning.

Recently, the IND vs BAN test in Kanpur saw more than two days being lost due to rain and wet outfield, but India managed to sneak a win through their aggressive approach both with the bat and ball.

IND vs NZ squads for test series:

India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep

New Zealand squad: Tom Latham (C), Tom Blundell, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Will O’Rourke, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Jacob Duffy, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Kane Williamson (subject to fitness), Will Young

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