Virat Kohli's men would look to bounce back hard after the World No 1 Test side was handed an embarrassing 10-wicket loss in the first of the two Tests against New Zealand in Wellington.
The visitors have many things to worry about. Captain Kohli has not fired for a while in New Zealand and ace bowler Jasprit Bumrah has not looked at his best. To add to the woes, Ishant Sharma is out of the Test due to an ankle injury. Ishant had hurt his ankle during a Ranji Trophy match and after working hard on it at National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, he had recovered in time to play the first Test against Kiwis, where he was the best bowler for India. Umesh Yadav is expected to fill in his shoes.
Coach Ravi Shastri said on the eve of the Test that the defeat was a shake-up that the team needed as it has not tasted the loss in a long time. He is hoping for a strong India performance at Christchurch.
"I always believe when you are on a run like we were, a shake-up like that (first Test) is good because it opens your mindset. When you are on the road winning all the time and you haven't tasted defeat, you can have a closed or fixed mindset," said Shastri.
New Zealand, on the other hand, have less to worry about but they will be wary of the fact that the Indians will be coming hard at them in the second Test.
The Test match starts 11.30 am local time and Accuweather app suggests that the day will start with some cloud cover. Later in the day, the sun will be out. There are no signs of rain as such on first day. However, cloud cover will be maintained throughout the Test match, with light showers expected on Day 4 later in the day.
The match begins ay 4 am (IST) on 29 February and it will be broadcast on Star Sports Network and Hotstar. You can also follow LIVE scorecard, over by over updates on Firstpost.com.
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