-
India's Yuvraj Singh lifts Sachin Tendulkar as they celebrate - Source: Reuters -
Related
History may favour the host but past experience suggests India can complement a maiden one-day series victory on New Zealand soil with rare success in the Test format when a three-match rubber opens at Seddon Park on Tuesday.
New Zealand flunked their first Test against the Indian batting line-up until an inconsequential fifth ODI win in Auckland last weekend, and the task appears even more formidable given the imminent return of Sachin Tendulkar and presence of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman for the first time on tour.
That holy trinity of Indian batsmanship follow the destructive Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir: a low achiever so far on tour but still a double centurion in Tests.
Indeed Yuvraj Singh might be considered the weak link in the Indian top six, he averages a mere 36.05 from 25 Tests, though his highest score of 169 still exceeds the best any of New Zealand's specialist batsmen can offer.
Weighing up the respective experience of the rival batting units reveals a massive disparity.
New Zealand have only 52 caps between them and 23 belong to allrounder and designated No 6 batsman James Franklin; India tally 502.
Ross Taylor has New Zealand's highest current aggregate of 862 runs; the indomitable Tendulkar, who will also bat at four, dwarfs him with a world record 12,429.
All up India's top six have amassed 38,089 runs around the globe, New Zealand - with opener Martin Guptill on debut - a mere 2488.
Confronted with those figures, New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori viewed the gulf in experience enviously.
"If you look at the Indian top order it's very impressive through their weight of games and their weight of runs.
"We going to need a lot of guys within our team, not just one or two stepping up to give ourselves a chance."
Well-beaten 3-1 in the ODIs, Vettori was taking little comfort in India's poor test record in New Zealand since they triumphed 3-1 in 1968.
That success doubled as India's first series win outside the sub-continent, but since then New Zealand has been a notoriously difficult place to tour.
Their last Test victory was at Eden Park in 1976. Subsequently New Zealand have built a 13-Test unbeaten record and for India the nadir was a 2-0 loss in 2002-03.
The practically unplayable combination of Shane Bond and green, seaming wickets placed a much-vaunted Indian batting line-up on the back foot in Hamilton and Wellington.
Six seasons on, Bond is confined to the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) while the pitch prepared for Wednesday's opener also appears to favour the visitors.
Encouraged by his bowlers' success on a lively wicket at Eden Park, Vettori hoped for more of the same on his home ground but was hardly enthusiastic.
"It looks pretty flat, a good batting wicket and that's an advantage for India," he said.
"We can probably deal with bounce a little bit better. We want something fair but with a little bit of pace in it."
Outside of Auckland, New Zealand's bowlers were unable to stifle Sehwag and company during the ODIs, but Vettori will have two experienced bowlers at his disposal: Franklin and Chris Martin.
Martin's recall was all but confirmed, meaning the uncapped Brent Arnel and spinner Jeetan Patel vie for 12th man duties.
Although Martin's form since his axing after the Test losses in Australia before Christmas has been uninspiring - three first class wickets at 113.66 - Vettori remains an ally of the 45-test veteran.
"I think he's done a great job for New Zealand for a long time - the selectors know that as well," he said.
Martin, Kyle Mills, Iain O'Brien and Franklin - who will play primarily as a batsman - form the pace attack while Jesse Ryder's medium pacers are another option.
India's only selection dilemma revolves around the identity of their third seamer - Munaf Patel or Lakshmipathy Balaji.
Meanwhile, Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni admitted the addition of a fit-again Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman was hugely beneficial.
"They are the kind of guys that have performed everywhere and it's not just their batting.
"They have input when it comes where the bowlers need to bowl, and the field.
"It helps you a lot as a skipper when you look around and you see guys that have played more than a hundred Test matches."
