India and New Zealand will be locking horns in the second Test of the three-match series in Pune from October 24 onwards. After conceding a defeat in the first Test in Bengaluru, the hosts will be eager to bounce back as their invincible record at home is under threat.
India have not lost a Test series at home since their 2-1 defeat to England in 2012. They have won 18 consecutive series at home since then with teams like Australia, England, South Africa and New Zealand also finding it hard to bag a series. But the loss in Bengaluru has made the next two games must-win for India to keep that record intact and bag crucial World Test Championship points.
The conditions are always crucial in a game of cricket and all eyes will be on the pitch of the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, where the second game between India and New Zealand is scheduled to take place. According to a report in ESPCricinfo, a slow turner is in the pipeline for the second Test in Pune. The pitch will be black soil and is expected to be slower and have a lower bounce than what we saw in Bengaluru.
India are likely to deploy spin pitches for both the Test matches but the one in Pune is likely to have a lower bounce than the Wankhede surface in Mumbai, where the third Test is set to take place. The second Test is set to begin on October 24 with the third game starting on November 1.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have added another spinner in Washington Sundar to the squad which shall serve more than a hint that a turning surface will be on offer in Pune. Sundar made a return to the Indian team after being in the squad for the England Test series.
While he was in the squad for three of the five Tests against England, he did not find a place in the Playing XI. Notably, Sundar's last game for India in the format came in 2021 in that home series against the Three Lions.
The Pune venue will be hosting its third-only Test match. It played host to the India vs Australia Test during the 2016-17 Border-Gavaskar series and then between India and South Africa in 2019. In the first game, Steve O'Keefe ran riot as he took 12 wickets and helped the Aussies win by 333 runs. In the second one, Virat Kohli smashed a double hundred.
India’s updated squad for the second and third Test against New Zealand: Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Washington Sundar.
