“It almost brings us into the game more” – Rachin Ravindra unfazed by ‘extreme wicket’ in IND vs NZ 2024 2nd Test

New Zealand all-rounder Rachin Ravindra reckons a rank turner will bring them more into the game in the second Test match against India at Pune. As the black soil pitch is expected to keep low and slow, the Kiwis will fancy their chances of winning their maiden Test series on Indian soil after taking a 1-0 lead in Bengaluru.

The rank turner will definitely bring the spin trio of Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, and Rachin Ravindra into the game. It was recently noticed that Indian batters had struggled against the Sri Lankan spinners in the three-match ODI series, which the Rohit Sharma-led team lost by 2-0.

Furthermore, India had lost the Pune Test against Australia in 2017 when they decided to play on a rank turner as Steve O’Keefe had done the bulk of the damage.

Rachin Ravindra said in the pre-match press conference, “If it’s an extreme wicket, it almost brings us into the game more. If you win the toss, all of a sudden you take a couple of wickets and you’re right into the game on a wicket that’s pretty spicy and turns a lot. As a team, it’s about accepting what’s in front of us. We can’t change that. We can’t control what wicket they’re going to roll out. But we can control our attitude, how we approach it, and each and every position we get into with the bat or consistency with the ball.”

Meanwhile, Rachin Ravindra gave a terrific performance at the opening Test at Bengaluru. Ravindra scored a fine knock of 134 runs and added a crucial alliance of 137 runs with Tim Southee, which is the joint-highest for New Zealand for the eighth wicket against India.

Moreover, the left-hander scored an unbeaten knock of 39 runs in the second innings in the run-chase of 107. Thus, he was awarded Player of the Match for his fine batting display.

India will take on New Zealand in the second Test at Pune from Thursday onwards.