BENGALURU, Oct 13: India is set to take on New Zealand in a three-match Test series, beginning at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday, October 16.
The second and third matches will be held at MCA Stadium in Pune and Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, respectively.
After a commanding whitewash of Bangladesh in their previous series, Team India aims to continue their dominant form against the Black Caps, seeking to solidify their No. 1 position in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 points table.
A key player to watch in this series will be Indian captain Rohit Sharma, who stands on the verge of breaking several records, both as a batsman and as a skipper.
Most Sixes for India in Test Cricket
Rohit Sharma has hit 87 sixes in 61 Test matches. He needs just five more sixes to surpass Virender Sehwag’s record of 91 and become India’s leading six-hitter in Test cricket. Sehwag achieved his tally in 104 Tests, and Rohit is poised to reach this milestone in significantly fewer matches.
First Indian to Score 1000 Runs in Two WTC Cycles
Rohit has already amassed 742 runs in 11 matches during the ongoing WTC 2023-25. With 258 more runs in this series, he will become the first Indian cricketer to score 1000 runs in two separate WTC cycles. In the previous edition (2019-21), Rohit racked up 1094 runs in 12 matches.
Most Successful Indian Captain in WTC
With 12 victories from 18 matches as India’s WTC captain, Rohit is closing in on Virat Kohli’s record of 14 wins. If Rohit leads India to a series sweep against New Zealand, he will surpass Kohli to become India’s most successful WTC captain.
Fourth Most Successful Indian Test Captain
Under Rohit’s leadership, India has won 12 out of 18 Test matches. A clean sweep of New Zealand will elevate Rohit past Mohammad Azharuddin, who led India to 14 wins in 47 Tests, making Rohit the fourth-most successful captain in Indian Test history.
Fourth Most Successful Indian Captain Across Formats
Rohit has already won 95 out of 128 matches across all formats. If India wins all three Tests against New Zealand, Rohit will overtake Sourav Ganguly’s record of 97 wins in 195 matches, becoming the fourth-most successful Indian captain in international cricket.Additionally, Rohit is also on the cusp of becoming the first Indian to score 3000 runs in the WTC. He currently has 2594 runs in 34 matches and needs 406 more runs in the upcoming series to reach this landmark. (Agencies)
