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India has been here before. It hasn’t happened too often recently, but they were 1-0 down in a home Test series. It happened against Australia in 2017, and then against England in 2021 and 2024. All three times they came back to win the series.

However, both series lasted four tests. India’s current generation have never really been in the situation they find themselves in against New Zealand: 1-0 at home, with just two Tests to go.

It puts them under enormous pressure. Beating India in India remains the toughest challenge in Test cricket today, but away teams have won more Tests here in the past two years than in the past. It is perhaps a sign of one era passing into another, a reminder of the cricketing deaths of R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.

However, this does not change the fact that India remain overwhelming favorites when the second Test begins on Thursday. New Zealand won in Bengaluru, yes, but they won through the perfect storm created by the weather and a deceptive throw that led India to what turned out to be the wrong throw and selection calls for those conditions. New Zealand itself was ready to make the same toss call that Tom Latham had called correctly.

Pune will not be like Bengaluru. India have done everything they can to restore the one key ingredient they have been missing in this series: home advantage. The details of how the pitch in Pune will behave will only become clear once the match starts, but the broad strokes are likely to be far less helpful to New Zealand’s fast players, and far more room for India to demonstrate their superior skill and control of the players to maximize. their spin attack. It won’t guarantee the result they want, not against this excellent New Zealand team, but whether they win, lose or draw, India will meet their fate on pretty much their own terms.

Form guide

India LWWWW (last five tests, most recent first)
New Zealand WLLLL

Spotlight – Shubman Gill and Glenn Phillips

Team News – Sarfaraz vs Rahul, Southee vs O’Rourke?

India have two important decisions to make regarding their XI. With Gill set to return, they will have to leave out KL Rahul, who has quite good returns across a small sample size – a century and two fifties in six Tests – since his move to the middle order late last year, and Sarfaraz Khan, who scored a riveting hundred in the second innings in Bengaluru. There is also the question of the second seam: should Akash Deep, who has looked like a natural in Indian conditions in his short Test career so far, come in for Mohammed Siraj, whose 13 home Tests have only given him the 19 wickets at 36.15? A dry pitch is expected to provide sufficient support to the spinners, so India will most likely stick with playing three of them. They have no major reason yet to look beyond the trio of Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav, even if Washington Sundar and Axar Patel emerge convincingly as all-rounders.

India: 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Rohit Sharma (captain), 3 Shubman Gill, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 KL Rahul / Sarfaraz Khan, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Mohammed Siraj/Akash Deep.

Despite being 1-0 up, New Zealand may have a tougher squad than India as this could mean a change in the design of their Bengaluru attack. Conditions in Pune will be much less conducive to swing and edge bowling, meaning New Zealand may have to think about leaving out one of their three quicks – possibly Tim Southee, their ex-captain, or Will O’Rourke, those seven wickets in Bengaluru – and bring in an extra spinner. This could be left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner or legspinner Ish Sodhi, who has come into the squad with Michael Bracewell released on paternity leave.

New Zealand 1 Tom Latham (cap), 2 Devon Conway, 3 Will Young, 4 Rachin Ravindra, 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Tom Blundell (wk), 7 Glenn Phillips, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Tim Southee/Will O’Rourke, 10 Matt Henry , 11 Ajaz Patel.

Location and conditions

After losing in totally un-Indian conditions at Chinnaswamy Stadium, India went to great lengths to prepare a track that, in theory, minimizes the damage the New Zealand fast currents can cause. A slow, low turner is in store, and spinners can expect more and more help as the Test match progresses, with sunny weather expected on all five days in Pune.

Statistics and trivia

Quotes

“No, we are not even thinking about giving anyone game time. All we are focusing on are these two Test matches (against New Zealand). And these two Test matches are very, very important for us. As important as any other test match.” , whether in India or Australia.”
Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir when asked if India would pick Akash Deep to give him game time ahead of the Australia tour

“It is important that we take the focus and confidence from that (Bengaluru) match into this match, but realize that we are both starting from zero and both teams are starting from zero tomorrow.”
New Zealand captain Tom Latham