India vs New Zealand 1st Test: Session 1 report: Shubman Gill fifty leads home side charge

At
the
end
of
the
first
session,
India
made
82
for
1
with
opener
Shubman
Gill
and
vice-captain
Cheteshwar
Pujara
occupying
the
crease.
Gill
is
on
52
and
Pujara
is
batting
on
15.

India
lost
Mayank
Agarwal
to
Kyle
Jamieson
for
13
as
he
edged
the
Kiwi
pacer
to
wicketkeeper
Tom
Blundell.

Earlier,
India
handed
debut
to
Shreyas
Iyer
and
he
received
national
cap
from
former
India
skipper
Sunil
Gavaskar
and
the
visitors
gave
debut
to
all-rounder
Rachin
Ravindra.

It
was
a
big
moment
for
Shreyas
as
he
received
his
Test
cap
from
former
skipper
and
legendary
cricketer
Sunil
Gavaskar
ahead
of
the
first
match
against
New
Zealand.

The
first
Test
of
the
two-match
series
between
India
and
New
Zealand
began
on
Thursday
in
Kanpur.

The
Board
of
Control
for
Cricket
in
India
(BCCI)
shared
the
video
in
which
Gavaskar
can
be
seen
handing
the
Test
cap
to
Iyer,
while
all
other
players
congratulate
the
India
batter.

“A
moment
to
cherish
for
@ShreyasIyer15
as
he
receives
his
#TeamIndia
Test
cap
from
Sunil
Gavaskar
–
one
of
the
best
to
have
ever
graced
the
game,”
BCCI
tweeted.

Meanwhile,
India
won
the
toss
and
opted
to
bat
against
New
Zealand
in
the
first
Test
of
the
two-match
series
here
at
the
Green
Park
Stadium.

In
the
first
Test,
Ajinkya
Rahane
will
be
leading
the
side
in
regular
skipper
Virat
Kohli’s
absence
and
with
Rahul
now
missing,
it
will
be
all
about
Rahane
and
Cheteshwar
Pujara
rising
to
the
challenge
in
the
middle-order.

Frontline
players
like
Virat,
Rohit
Sharma,
Mohammed
Shami,
Rishabah
Pant
and
Jasprit
Bumrah
have
been
rested
for
the
series
as
they
have
been
on
road
since
the
WTC
Final
against
New
Zealand
in
July
in
England.