BENGALURU: New Zealand batter Rachin Ravindra said on Monday facing India in Bengaluru in the birth city of his father willbe `special`moment with his family cheering in the stands.

The Black Caps begin the three Test match series on Wednesday, but the Wellingtonborn Ravindra who called himself `a Kiwi all the way through` said facing India will be an emotional moment.

`I am very proud of my Indian origin,` the 24-year-old told reporters. `To be able to play where a lot of my family is based is something special.

Ravindra has played nine Tests since his debut in Kanpur in 2021 and has become a regular in the national team with his swashbuckling batting.The left-hander enjoyed a prolific ODI World Cup in India last year, and then made an impression in his debut Indian Premier League T20 tournament for Chennai Super Kings.

He called them both `two pretty cool experiences to have`, but said playing a Test was `something different`.

`Test cricket is the pinnacle, he said, and so it `makes it extra significant because of the family conneetion`toplayinBengaluru.

`Dad will be here watching, he said. `Those moments, you pinch yourself on the journey`.

Ravindra, who plays spin well on turning sub-continent pitches, amassed 578 runs including three centuries 10 World Cup matches in 2023.

IntheIPL,he scored222runs for five-time winners Chennai, ata strike-rate of over 160.

Having experienced cricket in India, he said he was eager for the challenge ahead.

`We know how passionate the Indian people are about cricket`, he said, praising the `hype and the buzz` around the game and that he was `excited to have a fully fledged three-match series` to play.

But New Zealand face a stiff challenge.

India, led by Rohit Sharma, remain firm favourites after their recent 2-0 sweep of Bangladesh and will look to consolidate their position at the top of the World Test Championship table.

The hosts handed a bruising defeat to Bangladesh in the final Test, where more than two days were lost due to rain.`We want to be a team that can make 400 runs in a day, and bat for two days to draw,` India`s head coach Gautam Gambhir said. `That`s called growth, that`s called adaptability and that`s called Test cricket.

New Zealand are on the last leg of their sub-continent tour, which started with a washout against Afghanistan near New Delhi.

The Kiwis then lost 2-0 in Sri Lanka after going down in a hard-fought opener.

But Gambhir urged caution from India, saying New Zealand should not be underestimated.

`New Zealand is a completely different challenge. We know that they`re a very, very good team,` he said. `We know they`ve got some really highquality players. They`ve got players who can hurt us.`-AFP