By the time the New Zealand team arrived at the Holkar Stadium for an optional training session at around 10am, about 500 people were already in the stands. They cheered Kane Williamson, the New Zealand captain who had missed the last Test because of illness, on. They were happy Williamson was batting in the nets. If Williamson played a good shot or raised his bat to them, they clapped. If he missed, they ooh-ed and aah-ed. By the time the Indian team arrived in the afternoon this number had swollen to about 4000. Mostly students, they queued up patiently outside the ground, and proved to be no hindrance to the preparation of either the teams or the ground staff once they got in. They sat patiently in the stands and watched.The Holkar Stadium apparently has a tradition to let the fans enter the ground for even the practice sessions. This is a luxury in India. Other stadiums generally consider the fans an inconvenience; going by the BCCI ticketing practices these grounds would rather look after only the broadcasters and the VIPs, who are given complimentary passes. On a day when the old guard of the BCCI was fighting for its existence in the Supreme Court, a ground that was gearing up for its Test debut was showing the way.Out in the middle, preparations went on regardless. Williamson batting in the nets, and having a bit of a bowl was good news for New Zealand. Its looking positive, Shane Jurgensen, New Zealands bowling coach, said. Final confirmation on that will probably be tomorrow. We trained today, and he did some batting and had a decent hit and a run around. Well have another look at him tomorrow, but it looks positive.India welcomed a senior face as well. Gautam Gambhir, who last played for India in 2014, was the first one to pad up for India. Indias batting coach Sanjay Bangar empathised with Gambhirs situation; he gets one Test, and it is quite possible he is usurped by both the injured openers by the time England come. Bangar, however, refused to rule him out for the rest of the season. Gautam Gambhir is a quality player; what he has done really for himself, for the time he was out of the Indian team he kept on performing for his franchise and state side, Bangar said. When he got an opportunity in the Duleep Trophy, he was one of the top scorers there. That too against the pink ball, which certain batsmen found was difficult to pick. Yes, he ticked all boxes. Untimely injury to KL Rahul Shikhar Dhawan made sure that there is a place for him. He is something of a quality performer. Proven record against spin bowling. And the number of Test matches we are going to play in India, he becomes an important player right at the top of the order.Gambhir has come back with runs in Duleep Trophy, and with an open stance, at least half the way to what Shivnarine Chanderpaul had. Gambhir has worked on it with Justin Langer and Langers personal coach Neil Holder. The need of the hour, though, might be a change for the New Zealand spinners to work on. Their batsmen have shown a lot of discipline to make Indias bowlers work hard, a fact R Ashwin has acknowledged in his interview with bcci.tv, but they have been undone by natural variation for the India bowlers. India exploit it more because their spinners bowl with the seam parallel to the ground whereas the New Zealand spinners - like others who visit Asia - bowl with the seam pointing to fine leg at 45 degrees.It was certainly something we were working on before we came to India, Jurgensen said. It doesnt come as naturally, we bowl a different way where we come from. But the boys have been working on it to get that natural variation. Every game weve improved.It was refreshing to see the talk return to seam positions and Indias mindset of not even thinking of losing in crunch situations, thus, according to Bangar, being clear in their minds. It must not be easy for the players from either side to be clear in these times. Indias players are used to answering to the BCCI even though the money in cricket is publics and generated because of them. They must be wondering what lies ahead. New Zealands players must be aware the BCCI is capable of carrying through with its threats of pulling out of a series, and would have spent the two days after the Kolkata Test in limbo. 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The voting breakdown is listed below as well as the votes of our experts.Who will win the AL MVP award?1.?Mike Trout Los Angeles Angels VOTES: 13MLBs WAR leader (10.6) and the lone player in double digits, Trout also led in runs scored, walks and OBP and finished second in the AL in OPS and stolen bases, fourth in slugging and sixth in batting average. That all speaks to the broad blend of value Trout delivered on the diamond, but he also finished eighth in Defensive Runs Saved among AL center fielders.2.?Mookie Betts Boston Red Sox VOTES: 12Much of Betts case doesnt rest on his position on the leaderboard -- not that theres anything wrong with his MLB-best 359 total bases, spiced with 31 home runs, 26 steals in 30 tries, an .897 OPS and 32 Defensive Runs Saved, which was best among right fielders. Its all of that, plus his highlight-reel defense and the context of Betts performance coming while he spent most of the year leading off for a Red Sox team that won an always-tough AL East.3. Jose Altuve Houston Astros VOTES: 2Consistency might be the key to Altuves case. He won his second AL batting title while leading MLB in hits for a second time. He also notched his fifth straight season with 30 steals. But not everything sttayed the same -- this was the season that he ratcheted up his power-speed combo by ripping a career-high 24 home runs.dddddddddddd However, a .699 OPS in the last month of the season as the Astros tumbled out of the postseason picture didnt help him when ballots were being cast.Who will win the NL MVP award?1.?Kris Bryant Chicago Cubs VOTES: 26Because Bryant only led the league in runs scored among the classic back of the baseball card stats, his case might look like an example of the best player on the best team getting the most votes. But its more than that: Bryant also finished third in the NL in home runs and total bases, fourth in OPS and slugging and was a full win ahead of the competition with an NL-best 7.2 WAR.2.?Daniel Murphy Washington Nationals VOTES: 1Murphy almost won the batting title, losing by a point while hitting .347, and he doubled down on his newfound power by leading the league in slugging (.595), which added up to an NL-best .985 OPS. His 104 RBIs, good for fourth in the NL, and a league-leading 47 doubles all helped put him in the conversation for MVP.(Editors note -- Corey Seager was initially listed with one vote, which was changed to Bryant) ' ' '
