IND vs NZ first Test: Will rain plays spoilsport as in-form India faces edgy New Zealand in Bengaluru

New Zealand tour of India: India vs New Zealand first Test in Bengaluru on Wednesday (October 16, 2024).

Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill, the torchbearers of India's transition phase, will have to be the team's driving force in its quest to lord over an unsettled New Zealand when the two sides square off in a three-Test series, beginning in Bengaluru on Wednesday (October 16, 2024).

The baton has not been completely passed, but Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are certainly running their last lap and these two young superstars will have to show that they can carry forward the legacy of the titans.

Since a productive series against England earlier this year, Gill is now more familiar and comfortable with the rigours of Test cricket.

It is reliably learnt that Gill has a stiff neck, but should be able to play here and the team physio is hard at work to ensure that he is fully fit for the game that also faces the threat of rain.

Gill's last 10 innings are dotted with three hundreds and two fifties, while Jaiswal's last eight outings in Test cricket feature a 214 and five fifties.

Those numbers are not to be scoffed at. But at the same time, it is important for them to build on the foundation through this series, a precursor to the much tougher journey to Australia next month.

Gill seems to have sorted his issues with the in-coming deliveries from pacers, but a trace of the old failing still remains.