William Somerville

India won the toss and opted to bat against New Zealand in the first Test beginning here on Thursday. Shreyas Iyer made his Test debut for India and Rachin Ravindra for New Zealand.

India failed to bowl out New Zealand on a deteriorating track on Day 5 of the first Test but skipper Ajinkya Rahane praised his players saying they tried their best and couldn't have done anything different.

Kane Williamson is aware that spin is a "big component" in a Test series in India and expects his specialist slow bowlers -- left-arm orthodox Ajaz Patel and off-spinner William Somerville -- to adapt to the conditions quickly and make a difference.

After clinching this home series 1-0, India regained their No. 1 ranking in Tests on Monday, and now stand third on the WTC table, with 58.33 percentage points, while New Zealand have slipped to the sixth spot. It would be interesting to see how that position changes after both the teams are done with their next assignments - India tour South Africa, while the Kiwis host Bangladesh.

For the rest of his life, Ajaz Patel will cherish a day which saw him become only the third bowler in Test history to grab all 10 wickets in a Test innings. However, when the Mumbai-born Kiwi looks at the scorecard after the first two days of the second Test of the second Test, it might also rankle him slightly that his teammates actually spoiled his party, by not turning up either with ball or bat.

Comeback man Shubman Gill settled down nicely after initial nervous moments to remain unbeaten on 52 as India reached 82 for one at lunch against New Zealand on the opening day of the first Test in Kanpur.

Two Indian-born cricketers, Ajaz Patel and Rachin Ravindra, showed remarkable resilience under fading light and on a deteriorating track to defy India's famous spinners, eking out a thrilling draw for New Zealand in the opening Test on Monday.

Pujara's knocks of 123 and 71 were the cornerstone of India's victory in the opening Test against Australia at the Adelaide and has now moved ahead of Joe Root and David Warner in fourth position.India fast bowler Bumrah has achieved a career-high ranking of 33rd, after his three for 47 and three for 68 at Adelaide helped him to rise five places. Kohli maintained his top spot.

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson praised debutant Rachin Ravindra for holding fort against India's world class spin attack after the Kiwis pulled off a dramatic draw in the first Test on Monday.

Kyle Jamieson pitched the ball in right areas to strike thrice as New Zealand pegged India back, restricting them to 154 for four at tea on the first day of the opening Test, after skipper Ajinkya Rahane and his deputy Cheteshwar Pujara failed to convert their starts.

India-born New Zealand spinner Ajaz Patel on Wednesday said he and colleagues were guilty of not maintaining their line and length in the opening Test and would need to be tighter in their execution in the second game beginning Friday.

Rishabh Pant, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill and Washington Sundar ruled the first half of the year. On Thursday, Shreyas Iyer got his Test career off to an assured start as he walked off the field unbeaten on 75 off 136 balls, leaving New Zealand in a desperate state at the end of day one with a score 258/4 on the board.

Debutant Shreyas Iyer was guts, aggression and flair rolled into one during an unbeaten knock of 75 as India ended on 258 for four on the first day of the opening Test against New Zealand on Thursday. On a pitch that had variable bounce and didn't offer enough pace off it, Iyer put his best foot forward while facing 136 balls on his very first day in office in the longest format.

A captain battling existential crisis, a veteran pacer about to be phased out and a white-ball maverick trying to earn his red-ball stripes makes for a heady combination as Ajinkya Rahane's second-string India aim to size up a gritty New Zealand in first Test starting Thursday.