India vs New Zealand, 2nd Test: Heavy downpour in Mumbai casts a pall on Wankhede Test

The second Test match between India and New Zealand is in danger of being washed out as Mumbai is currently witnessing heavy rainfall. The coastal city in the state of Maharashtra on Wednesday recorded its second-highest rainfall for the month of December as temperature fell down to a freezing 9 degrees Celcius. Both India and New Zealand were forced to call off their practice sessions on Wednesday as the track at the Wankhede Stadium remained under covers the entire day.

For the next 24 hours, Mumbai and its suburbs are expected to witness light to moderate rainfall, according to the regional meteorological agency. The weather forecast for Saturday indicates that the city will stay cloudy; however, no rain is expected for the day, meaning that only the first day of the second Test match is at risk of being washed out.

With an exciting final day of play, the first Test match between India and New Zealand ended up in a draw after Kiwi batters Rachin Ravindra and Ajaz Patel batted hard to deny the home side a victory. The winner of the two-match series between the top Test sides in the world will now be determined by the outcome of the second Test match.

With regular captain Virat Kohli all set to return to the squad, India would be eager to play the second Test in Mumbai and register its first series win in the latest cycle of the World Test Championship. 

India vs New Zealand

As far as the first Test match is concerned, India's stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and elected to bat first. India posted a mammoth total of 345 runs courtesy of some superb batting performances by Shreyas Iyer, Shubman Gill, and Ravindra Jadeja.

While Gill and Jadeja both scored a half-century each in the first innings, Iyer became the 16th Indian batter to register a Test ton on debut. In reply, New Zealand could amass just 296 runs in their first innings, leaving India with a lead of 63 runs. 

In the second innings, India declared after scoring 234 runs for the loss of seven wickets. Iyer came to the rescue once again as he smashed a half-century to become the first-ever Indian batter to score a century and a half-century on Test debut. Indian bowlers then launched the attack on the Kiwis and managed to pick nine wickets on Day 5.

However, the final two batters for the Black Caps troubled the Indian bowlers as they failed to break the partnership, with the match ending in a draw. 

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