India look poised to break a 40-year Test series drought in New Zealand with room to spare when the second match gets under way in Napier today.
India lead the three-match series 1-0 but are overwhelming favorites at McLean Park after demoralizing the Black Caps with their 10-wicket victory in Hamilton.
As if their dominance at the wicket wasn’t enough, India also have a fully fit squad while New Zealand are struggling with injuries and form.
PHOTO: AFP
“We don’t think too much about what they’re doing because, frankly speaking, it’s about us, what we want to achieve,” said captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
“How we’re preparing ourselves that will have a bigger impact on the game rather than thinking about what the opposition is doing,” he said.
LONG WAIT
Until Hamilton, India had not even won a Test in New Zealand for 33 years and they are now keen to end their even longer wait for a series victory.
“The first milestone we have achieved,” Dhoni said. “Now it’s important to play the same kind of cricket in the second and third games.”
“Winning the series would be the best gift the team can give to Sachin [Tendulkar] and Rahul [Dravid],” he said.
The star batsmen are both on their last tour to New Zealand.
It was an upbeat assessment by the Indian skipper, in contrast to his New Zealand counterpart Daniel Vettori who admitted his side was outplayed in all areas in the first Test.
“There are a lot of things we need to quickly improve on if we are to have a chance in Napier,” he said, emphasizing the Black Caps needed to bat for at least 120 overs an innings, not 80 as they did in the first Test.
“The longevity of the Test match game is what’s catching us out,” he said.
“We do things well for maybe a session or two but we’re not doing it well enough for four or five. That’s what the good teams do,” Vettori said.
“India played so well in that first Test, they seemed to win every key moment,” he said.
New Zealand will wait until the last minute before deciding whether to play batsman Daniel Flynn and pace bowler Iain O’Brien, who are both carrying slight injuries, but who performed fluidly in the nets yesterday.
TWO SPINNERS
There were also strong indications the Black Caps will play two spin bowlers, with off-spinner Jeetan Patel included at the expense of out-of-form quick bowler Kyle Mills.
The wicket is expected to offer encouragement for the slow bowlers on days four and five but Dhoni said India would probably remain unchanged, leaving offie Harbhajan Singh as their only spinner.
There were also some concerns about the pitch following an outbreak of fungal disease on the wicket block.
However, ground staff dismissed any worries and said it would be a traditional McLean Park pitch, offering assistance to the quick bowlers on the first day before flattening out into a good batting surface.
Another milestone within India’s grasp rests with Dravid, who needs one more catch to become the most prolific fielder in Test cricket.
He currently shares the record of 181 catches with Australia’s Mark Waugh.
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