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Wellington: The Indian team has the onerous task of regrouping its tumultuous self ahead of the second Test, starting on Friday: even as the players were recovering from the shattering defeat in the first Test came the blow from home, suggesting there may be a cheat in their midst.
As if that was not enough, most would have spent their pre-match waking hours watching the IPL auction and calculating their losses or gains and with the captain's name himself being taken in vain by a bookie, they will be wondering where to turn for deliverance.
Only six players turned up at the optional training session on Wednesday, the others were hopefully only trying to gather their wits, and not fussing over issues beyond the game.
Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav and Ishwar Pandey had a long, hard stint at the indoor facilities at the Westpac Stadium, owing to a morning spell of rain.
It is, however, in such circumstances that the Indian team is always at its dangerous best, you can surely expect it to give its all, like a final burst from a dying light. That is the only way to salvage a respectful return, otherwise, it knows, a toxic welcome is building back home.
After all, it has had a disastrous tour, with only one tie to show as a face-saving veneer, true, the all-loss record is not a real reflection of its performance so far. Almost in every match, it has stumbled only near the finish line, often heartbreakingly so.
To make it worse, it hasn't won even once in 13 away Tests. Can it at least now rack up those extra few breaths to stay on its feet for those last few steps? Can it gather a little more power in its lax arms to land the sucker punch?
The main problem so far has been that the team has not performed as a unit: the batsmen and bowlers have taken turns to become vapid, to make the team seem much below par than it actually is. The openers have struggled to give starts, even though Murali Vijay has looked in good touch while Shikhar Dhawan has, hopefully, recovered his form and confidence.
The middle-order too has looked shaky, with only Virat Kohli exuding the desire to dominate, Cheteshwar Pujara is due for a big one, while Ajinkya Rahane will be wondering if he will continue to remain luckless. Rohit Sharma will also know that his bat needs to be talking a little more.
The pacers came up with an almost incredible effort in the second innings to bring India back into the Test, they must have realised their follies and should be a lot more competitive.
Leading batsman Ross Taylor has been left out of the New Zealand side for the second Test against India which begins Friday, with the uncapped Tom Latham and James Neesham drafted in.
Latham replaces veteran Taylor who will remain with his wife who is due to give birth, while the green wicket has earned all-rounder Neesham a start at the expense of leg-spinner Ish Sodhi.
New Zealand will take five seamers into the match as they look to wrap up the series after winning the first Test by 40 runs. Kane Williamson will act as the spin option.
Teams from:
New Zealand: Peter Fulton, Hamish Rutherford, KS Williamson, Tom Latham, Brendon McCullum (capt.), Corey Anderson, BJ Watling (wk), Trent Boult, Jimmy Neesham, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee and Neil Wagner
India: Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni (Capt. & wk), Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Ishwar Pandey, Ambati Rayudu, WP Saha, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav
Pitch and conditions
There would be no respite for the Indian batsmen from the New Zealand pacers as the Basin Reserve pitch would be a green, seamers' paradise, curator said. The weather forecast is good. There hasn't been any rain since Wednesday morning and we shouldn't have any disturbances during the match.
Stats and trivia
Match facts
February 14-18, 2014
Start time 1100 local (2200 GMT, previous day, 0330 IST)
