India eye top Test ranking again
New Zealand will bear brunt of trial by spin masters
NEW DELHI — There is no place like home if you are looking to scramble back to the top of the world rankings, and that appears to be India’s mantra as they kick off a bumper Test season against New Zealand on Thursday. The world’s richest cricket board has long been accused of ignoring the game’s longest format, a wrong they decided to right in June by scheduling a whopping 13 Tests in the 2016-17 calendar. All of them being on home soil also dovetailed perfectly with India’s ambition to regain the top Test team’s billing after grudgingly handing over the honour to arch-rivals Pakistan following a washed-out Test in the West Indies. New Zealand will bear the brunt of it as Kane Williamson’s men prepare for a trial by spin over the next three weeks from the world’s No2 Test team in their three-match series. Making India the top Test team was one of the key goals listed in Anil Kumble’s presentation before he landed the head coach’s job, but the former spinner has said he is not someo...
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