India Vs New Zealand, 1st Test Day 1 Highlights: Persistent Rain Leads To Play Being Called Off In Bengaluru

• Rain has it's final say! Day 1 has been called off due to rain.

• Toss to take place at 8:45 AM IST on Day 2.

• Start of Play: 9:15 AM IST

Welcome to the live coverage of the first day of the first Test between India vs New Zealand being played at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

After a spectacular showing against Bangladesh in the two-match Test series, India will now shift their focus to New Zealand when they go head-to-head in the first Test match at the M Chinnaswamy in Bengaluru, starting from Wednesday, October 16.

But, the monsoon season around, will the weather gods be kind enough or will they play spoilsport in Bengaluru for the 1st IND vs NZ Test?

As per AccuWeather, the probability of precipitation and probability of thunderstorms on Day 1 of the Test is 41% and 25%, respectively.

India have battled New Zealand on 63 occasions in Tests, and have come out victorious 22 times, while the Kiwis have won 13 times. 28 matches have been drawn. 

Check the full stats here.

India: Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli , KL Rahul , Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin , Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep.

Travelling Reserves: Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mayank Yadav and Prasidh Krishna.

New Zealand: Tom Latham (c), Tom Blundell (wk), Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, William O'Rourke, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Kane Williamson , Will Young.

The covers are on the field, and the toss has been delayed due to persistent rain in Bengaluru.

"We keep our options open for playing three seamers and three spinners as well. But again, we want to just come here tomorrow morning and see what the conditions are like, and then take a call. We will discuss that as the game gets on. We want to see what kind of situation is there in front of us, how many overs are to be played, and things like that.

"We had no idea when we came to Kanpur, that it is going to be washed out for two days and then we are not going to have a full game. But we managed to get a win and we managed all our plans based on how much time do we have in the game. And based on that, we made our plan and we went on with it. So I don't know what it is going to be here, but I expect to have a full game. That will be ideal. But let's come here tomorrow and see what lies in front of us."

As per the weather reports, rain could dampen the mood in the afternoon session as thunderstorms are predicted.

How Good Is M Chinnaswamy’s Drainage System?

Chinnaswamy Stadium is known for having the best drainage system in the country. The state-of-the-art sub-surface aeration and vacuum-powered drainage system, introduced in 2017, can remove water at a rate of 10,000 liters per minute.

The SubAir system can prepare the ground for play just 15 minutes after the rain stops, no matter how heavy it has been.

Read more about it HERE

Thanks to their 2-0 series victory over Bangladesh, India claimed top position in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) table. With a PCT of 74.2 after 11 Tests, India are top of the pile and look all set to qualify for the final for a third consecutive time.

They need to win this series 3-0 (which looks highly unlikely thanks to rain) and book a spot in the final.

Elsewhere, Pakistan are in action against Ben Stokes' England in Multan for the 2nd Test. Catch the ball-by-ball action from the 2nd PAK vs ENG Test, right HERE.

Lunch taken on day 1 of the 1st IND vs NZ Test match in Bengaluru. As per local weather reports, there is more rain predicted and that could spell doom for cricket enthusiasts and fans.

Monday: 25% chance of a thunderstorm in the afternoon.

Tuesday: 24% chance of a thunderstorm.

Wednesday: 24% chance of a thunderstorm, with a few showers expected.

Thursday: 1% chance of a thunderstorm.

Friday: 24% chance of a thunderstorm

Latest visuals from the M Chinnaswamy Stadium -

People are slowly moving, but it’s not the kind of activity you want to witness. There's a lack of action on the field, and in the stands, the few spectators who came to the stadium are gradually starting to trickle out.

“To be honest, right now, it’s pretty difficult for us to make a call on him, whether he’ll be fit for this series or Australia series. He recently had swelling on his knee, which was quite unusual.” 

“He was in the process of getting fit, getting close to 100 per cent, he had swelling in his knee, that put him back a little bit in his recovery. So, he had to start again. Right now, he’s at NCA, he’s working with the physios and the doctors at NCA,” he added.

More rain in store for tomorrow unless the gods above have pity. Till then, it's goodbye from us here.