Daijiworld Media Network

Bangalore, Aug 31: Good morning folks! Welcome to our coverage of the 2nd Test from Bengaluru. It is pretty cloudy out here, it has been that way for the last couple of days. But, there's no rain yet. So, we will get a 9 30 AM start. The Kiwis would need to pull up their socks and work hard if they are to avoid a clean sweep. Will India be too good for New Zealand here as well? Let's find out.

Pitch Report: There will be some lateral movement and there will be some turn as the game progresses. The pitch is slightly different from the usual Bangalore wicket. It is not too dry, probably because of the rain around. If there is bounce, then spinners will have their say. Win the toss and bat first says Sunny Gavaskar.

New Zealand have won the toss and elected to bat

Taylor: We'll bat first, There will be something in it for the bowlers in the first hour but we'll have to handle that. The average score is 450, so we need to bat properly. We have to try and forget the 1st Test and take as many positives as we can. Southee comes in for Chris Martin.

Dhoni: We would have batted first also. It's a lot harder and has a bit more grass than the Hyderabad wicket. We play the same side. We don't look too much ahead and we will look to keep it simple. The weather is terrific, it'll stay cloudy throughout the Test match.

Teams:

New Zealand (Playing XI): Brendon McCullum, Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor(c), Daniel Flynn, James Franklin, Kruger van Wyk(w), Doug Bracewell, Tim Southee, Jeetan Patel, Trent Boult

India (Playing XI): Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Cheteshwar Pujara, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni(w/c), Ravichandran Ashwin, Zaheer Khan, Pragyan Ojha, Umesh Yadav

Match Preview :

India will again look up to the spinners to do the job as they seek a 2-0 finish against New Zealand when the second Test begins at Bangalore. India are clearly the favourites against a struggling New Zealand side, who had no clue whatsoever as to how to handle the likes of R Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha during the first Test in Hyderabad and unless the visitors come up with a solid showing with the bat, a similar result is the likely outcome.

What happened in the previous match:

In a short 2-match Test series, India got off to a winning start thanks to spin duo Ashwin and Ojha, who picked up 18 wickets between them to bowl out New Zealand twice in Hyderabad. Opting to bat, India posted a formidable 438 with Cheteshwar Pujara (159) scoring his maiden Test ton, before bowling out New Zealand for 159 and 164 to win by an innings and 115 runs. Ashwin was the wrecker-in-chief, picking up 12/85 (6 wicket hauls in both innings) while Ojha (6/92 - 3 wickets in each innings) provided the right-handed off-spinner good support as India won the match in 4 days.

What's in store and what can be done:

The hosts: India will definitely unleash the spinners to rattle the New Zealand batsmen again. The hosts, just like in Hyderabad, will look to bat first and post a big total again before trying to bowl out the opposition twice. The match provides an opportunity to the likes of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir to spend more time at the middle. The Indian opening pair did get off to a good start in the first Test, but could not make their stay count for a substantial contribution. For Sachin Tendulkar, this is an opportunity to add to his tally of runs in Bangalore.

The master batsman, who got out for 19 in Hyderabad, will be looking for a big knock as he seeks to go past 1000 runs at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Pujara performed brilliantly in the opening game and another good knock from him can be expected and it will also do him a lot of good in terms of cementing his place at number 3. Virat Kohli and Mahendra Singh Dhoni got out after solid half-centuries during the first Test and they will also be hoping for bigger scores when it comes to their turn to bat. Suresh Raina was a disappointment in the opening match, getting out for just 3, and he will need to come up with a good performance to justify his place in the side. As far as bowlers are concerned, the spinners will be India's main weapon while the home team will also look up to Zaheer Khan and Umesh Yadav to do some damage with the new ball. The left-handed pacer will also be eager to snap up a few Kiwi batsmen, having gone wicket-less in Hyderabad.

The visitors: Quite clearly, the main agenda in New Zealand's team meetings would have been how their batsmen can counter India's spinners. Ross Taylor mentioned after the first match that it was more to do with the mental aspect than the technical part. However the batsmen's technique too played a big role in their downfall in the first match. Playing the wrong line, not using the feet, and attempting the wrong shots were mainly the reasons why they failed at Hyderabad. They first need to get these basics right and also work on spending longer hours at the middle if they are to offer India any kind of challenge. The visitors do not need a crash-course on how to battle spin because they can look into the performances of James Franklin (43* off 122 balls in the first innings), Brendon McCullum (42 off 130 balls in the 2nd innings) and Kane Williamson (52 off 163 balls in the second innings) in the previous match.

These three batsmen showed that they have the ability in them to battle it out. If the same fighting spirit is put in collectively, New Zealand can most definitely post better totals and offer India a tougher competition. Coming to the Kiwi bowlers, Trent Boult was most impressive in the first game, troubling some of the Indian batsmen with his left-arm seamers from over the wicket and he will be expected to keep at it again. Chris Martin and Doug Bracewell stuck to their tasks, bowling line and length, but on Indian tracks which are non-responsive to pace, they may not pose much of a problem. Jeetan Patel picked up a four wicket haul in the first innings and can make an even better impact in the second, but for that New Zealand have to first bat well and ensure that India also bat a second time.