5 key battles to watch out for in the upcoming New Zealand tour of India

#1 Virat Kohli vs Kane Williamson – The battle of the skippers

The battle between the tactics of these youngsters will play a pivotal role in determining the results

Last time India played New Zealand in a Test match, MS Dhoni and Brendon McCullum led the respective teams. Both of them are no longer playing Test cricket, and their successors have taken their position as Test skippers. Virat Kohli against Kane Williamson is definitely going to be a brilliant battle as both of them have proved to be successful with their own style of captaincy.

There is a striking resemblance between the team structures of both the teams. 2 openers, followed by 3 specialist batsmen, followed by a wicket keeper batsman, 2 spin bowling all-rounders, one specialist spinner and 2 seamers.

The spin bowling options available to both the captains are also the same – one leg spinner (Sodhi and Mishra), one right arm off spinner (Craig and Ashwin), and one slow left arm bowler (Santner and Jadeja). And the quality pace battery available to both the skippers will increase the quality of the competition. Hence, it is safe to say that the fate of this series will depend on how well these youngsters uses their resources.

Thus the true battle we are going to witness will be between the two young skippers who are determined to prove themselves. Kohli, after becoming the full-time Test skipper is yet to concede a Test series whereas Williamson has a 2-0 win in Zimbabwe and 0-1 loss in South Africa under his bag.

Will Kohli further stretch his streak or will Williamson earn New Zealand’s first ever Test series victory on Indian soil? Only time will tell!