Mumbai: It was an end to end battle as both India and New Zealand fought hard to secure a win in the opening Test. India led by Ajinkya Rahane put up 283 as target and had the advantage on the final day. Rachin Ravindra and Ajaz Patel ensured safe passage for the Kiwis as the T20 World Cup runners-up just edged the match to secure an all important draw.
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Now heading towards the second and Final Test match of the series, players and fans are concerned about the Mumbai weather. Off-season rain on Wednesday have put the match on high alert as rain may play a likely spoilsport on the 1st Day of the Test on Friday.
Weather.com reported that there are high chances of rain on Thursday and on the day when the Test begins, the chances of the skies opening up is very less. The Friday weather is expected to be humid with partial sunshine, with a rain probability of 25 per cent according to AccuWeather, with the cloud cover likely to be at 74% when the match starts and will come down to as low as 35% in the afternoon. Since the pitches will be covered, chances of moisture being on the surface is very much possible, which will help the seamers a lot during the course of play. The temperature range would be between 26-29 C and after 2 pm, the skies are expected to be partly sunny. Probable Line-ups: India: Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (captain), Shreyas Iyer, Wriddhiman Saha/ KS Bharat (wicket-keeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav. New Zealand: Tom Latham, Will Young, Kane Williamson (captain), Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, Tom Blundell (wicket-keeper), Rachin Ravindra, Kyle Jamieson, Tim Southee/Neil Wagner, Ajaz Patel, William Somerville.