New Zealand to begin India tour with Kanpur test
MUMBAI (Reuters) - New Zealand will begin their five-week tour of India with the opening test of the three-match series at Kanpur from Sept. 22, the Indian cricket board (BCCI) said on Tuesday.
Test cricket will return to Kanpur's Green Park Stadium after a gap of seven years while the central Indian city of Indore will make its debut as a test match centre in the second match, starting on Sept. 30.
Kolkata's Eden Gardens will stage the final test against the Black Caps from Oct. 8 but the BCCI did not clarify if it would be a day-night test, as has been recently reported in the local media.
The BCCI said last week they would wait for the players' feedback from September's Duleep Trophy in which pink balls would be used.
New Zealand will also play five one-day internationals between Oct. 16-29.
India are set for a bumper season at home when they will be playing 13 test matches, eight ODIs and three T20 Internationals.
England and Australia will also visit India to play five and four tests respectively, while Bangladesh will play a one-off test at Hyderabad.
India v New Zealand tour schedule:
Tests
Sept. 22-26 - First test, Kanpur
Sept. 30-Oct. 4 - Second test, Indore
Oct. 8-12 - Third test, Kolkata
ODIs
Oct. 16 - First ODI, Dharamsala
Oct. 19 - Second ODI, Delhi
Oct. 23 - Third ODI, Mohali
Oct. 26 - Fourth ODI, Ranchi
Oct. 29 - Fifth ODI, Vizag
(Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly; editing by Amlan Chakraborty)