WATCH: Fans In Bengaluru Welcome Virat Kohli With Loud Cheers Amid Heavy Rain

The opening day of the first Test between India and New Zealand was washed out due to rain in Bengaluru. Despite heavy downpours, many fans were in attendance at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday.

The majority of them were excited to catch a glimpse of Virat Kohli, who has a massive fanbase in the city for his association with the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise, Royal Challengers Bengaluru. The crowd burst into loud cheers when Kohli stepped onto the ground along with Yashasvi Jaiswal amid rain.

Both Virat Kohli and Yashasvi Jaiswal had donned the training jerseys and were carrying the kit bags. They were accompanied by a coaching staff. The ground was mostly covered at that moment. Kohli and Jaiswal took some time to inspect the condition of the surface before leaving. The duo then headed to the indoor training facilities of the National Cricket Academy (NCA).

Virat Kohli will be keen to rediscover his form in this home series against New Zealand. He was far from his best in the previous Test assignment. Against Bangladesh, Kohli managed 99 runs across four innings. India head coach Gautam Gambhir, however, remains hopeful that Kohli will regain his form ahead of the highly anticipated Border Gavaskar Trophy.

“See, my thoughts about Virat have always been very clear – he is a world-class cricketer. He has performed consistently for such a long period. His hunger remains as strong as it was when he debuted. I am sure he will be eager to get runs in this series and moving forward to Australia as well,” Gautam Gambhir told reporters ahead of the first Test against New Zealand.

Despite Virat Kohli’s off-form, India registered a dominant 2-0 victory in the Test series against Bangladesh. Referring to the outcome, Gautam Gambhir said, “You don’t keep judging people after every game. It’s a sport, and failures are inevitable. What matters is focusing on the results and whether players are contributing to achieving those results.”

The second day’s play in Bengaluru will begin at 9:15 AM IST on Thursday. The toss is scheduled to be held at 8:45 AM IST. As per weather reports, sky will remain cloudy and scattered thunderstorms can affect the first session.