NZ vs Ind: Ishant Sharma set to miss 2nd Test, Umesh Yadav likely to replace him

Team India suffered a major blow ahead of their second Test against New Zealand in Christchurch with pacer Ishant Sharma set to be ruled out after a recurrence of his right ankle injury. Ishant Sharma had sustained during a Ranji Trophy game against Vidarbha in January. According to a report published by a well-known cricket portal, Ishant Sharma is likely to be replaced by Umesh Yadav in the playing XI.

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NZ vs Ind: Ishant Sharma injury status prior to New Zealand vs India 2nd Test

According to the report, the Delhi pacer was present in the nets and did bowl for a while on Thursday (February 27). However, after that he was absent from the team's main training session. The report says that Ishant Sharma had informed the team management of pain within the same ankle after bowling for nearly 20 minutes in the nets on Thursday. He was sent for tests on Friday (February 28) and the results of those are still awaited.

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New Zealand vs India 2nd Test: Ishant Sharma injury dents India

Ishant Sharma's absence from New Zealand vs India 2nd Test will be a massive blow for Team India, who are looking to level the series. They lost the first Test by 10 wickets at the Basin Reserve. Ishant Sharma, who was making a comeback post-injury, was the best bowler for Team India in the first Test, finishing with figures of 5 for 68 in New Zealand's first innings. Team India will mostly not pick Ishant Sharma as they would not want to take the risk of playing him and then losing a specialist bowler.

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Umesh Yadav has never played in a Test in New Zealand. His last Test appearance was at the Perth Stadium in December 2018, when India played four fast bowlers. Umesh had a rather successful home summer in India in 2019, where he played mostly in place of the injured Jasprit Bumrah and picked up 23 wickets at 13.65 in 4 Tests. His away record though, doesn't make for an impressive reading, as he has just picked up 46 wickets at 42.19 in 17 Tests.

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NZ vs Ind live streaming for New Zealand vs India 2nd Test

The NZ vs Ind Test match is scheduled to start at 4:00 AM IST and will be played between February 29 and March 4 at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch. The NZ vs Ind live streaming on TV will be shown on Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD while the NZ vs Ind live streaming online will be aired by Hotstar and JioTV. You can also view NZ vs Ind live streaming and score updates on the official BCCI Twitter handle, i.e. https://twitter.com/BCCI.