India elect to bat in first New Zealand Test

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni elected to bat after winning the toss in the first cricket Test against New Zealand on Thursday.

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni elected to bat after winning the toss in the first cricket Test against New Zealand on Thursday.

Prolific batsmen Gautam Gambhir and Venkatsai Laxman returned to the team after missing India's previous Test against Australia in Bangalore last month due to injuries.

New Zealand handed Test caps to fast bowler Hamish Bennett and batsman Kane Williamson.

The second Test will be played in Hyderabad from November 12-16 and the third in Nagpur from November 20-24. The Tests will be followed by five one-day internationals from November 28.

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Venkatsai Laxman, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Zaheer Khan, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth.

New Zealand: Daniel Vettori (capt), Hamish Bennett, Gareth Hopkins, Chris Martin, Brendon McCullum, Tim McIntosh, Jeetan Patel, Jesse Ryder, Ross Taylor, BJ Watling, Kane Williamson.

Umpires: Steve Davis (AUS) and Kumar Dharmasena (SRI)

TV umpire: Shavir Tarapore (IND)

Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI)

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