Will Rohit Sharma Shine On His Favourite Hunting Ground The Eden Gardens?

India's cautious approach ahead of the Test series against New Zealand, owing to the three spinners the Kiwis added to their squad, handed Rohit Sharma another shot at Test glory during the Kanpur Test where he scored 35 in the first innings before throwing his wicket away. He went on to score 68 in the second innings - a knock coach Anil Kumble described as brilliant.

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But, this still doesn't guarantee a sure shot spot for Rohit in the playing XI for the 2nd Test in Kolkata as he might be the one who the management may drop in favour of Virat Kohli's five-bowler theory. However, keeping in mind Kumble's remark and Sourav Ganguly's assertion that the Eden Gardens pitch might not offer much spin Rohit could hold on to his spot. And if he does so, he could not have asked for a better place to prove his detractors wrong and try and aim to seal a regular spot in the XI.

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The last time Rohit played a Test match in Eden Gardens, Kolkata was in November 2013 during the monumental farewell series of Sachin Tendulkar. Incidentally, debuting in whites at number six, Rohit scored 177. Six years after he broke in to the international scene, his knock, coming off 301 balls consisting 23 boundaries and a six, hinted that the prodigal talent is here to stay in Tests. Three year on, Rohit, despite playing 18 more Tests, still finds himself fighting for a regular spot in the playing XI.

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Often criticised for being handed the long rope, the Mumbai batsman has not been able to translate his limited-over exploits to the longer format. Eden Gardens has been etched in Indian cricket history like no other ground and for Rohit, this is the ground where he scores and scores heavily irrespective of the format.

Sample this: Apart from the hundred on Test debut, Rohit scored his third first-class double-century (200*) during the Ranji Trophy 2010-11 season at Eden Gardens. His mammoth score of 264 - the highest individual score in ODIs - came here in November 2014 against Sri Lanka. He scored his maiden IPL century (109) here in 2012 and Eden Gardens was the venue of his two IPL titles victories with Mumbai Indians (2013 and 2015).

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So there is not much scope of anything going wrong for Rohit when he comes out to bat at Eden Gardens during the 2nd Test between India v New Zealand. And the question is can we expect another Eden special from the 29-year-old if he is able to hold down his number six spot?