Kolkata: It was a fairy tale first Test for India which it won quite comfortably against New Zealand at Green Park. Going into the second Test with 1-0 series lead, India will look to double the margin while also taking a shot at No.1 Ranking in Tests which it lost last month.

Let's have a look at the squad and determine which eleven players India should select for the second Test.

Openers:

Murali Vijay did a fantastic Job in the first Test and should no doubt continue to retain his place in the playing eleven.

Shikhar Dhawan and Gautam Gambhir will fight out for the second place with Rohit Sharma a distant possibility. Since Shikhar Dhawn has continued to be in shaky form it should be Gautam Gambhir in the playing eleven since Rohit Sharma will most likely be still played as a middle order batsman. However, Gautam Gambhir is returning to the international fold after quite some time and in-spite of his excellent form this one factor can turn the tables. But since the match is going to be played at Eden Garden, the team should play Gambhir due to his experience as the skipper of Kolkata Knight Riders.

Middle Order:

Cheteshwar Pujara should continue to play at Number 3 after two fifties in the first Test.

Virat Kohli will no doubt continue to play at No.4 in-spite of some bad run with the bat in recent games as he has proved to be a terrific skipper and it's only a matter of time before he returns to form completely.

Ajinkya Rahane played at number 5 in the first Test, but in-spite of a 40 in the second innings he should be dropped and Rohit Sharma should be promoted to No.5. Rohit Sharma has a long running love story with Eden Gardens and should continue it and he has been playing relatively well.

Wicket-Keeper:

Do we have any other choice? Wriddhiman Saha will continue since there's no other choice and he kept wickets well in the first Test.

Bowlers:

The spinners won the match for India in the first Test and should do so again in the second Test. Adding Amit Mishra might prove be an aggressive move from Kohli. And since Ashwin and Jadeja have shown to be reliable with the bat and since Amit Mishra can also bat quite well India should go into the Test with five bowlers including three spinners.
Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav bowled well in the limited overs they got. Plus Shami's experience for Bengal and Yadav's experience for KKR could really come in handy.

Playing 11:

Murali Vijay

Gautam Gambhir

Cheteshwar Pujara

Virat Kohli

Rohit Sharma

W Saha

Ravindra Jadeja

R Ashwin

Amit Mishra

Mohammed Shami

Umesh Yadav