What
The second Test of the two-match series between India and New Zealand
When
August 31 - September 04, 2012. The game begins at 9:30 am IST.
Where
M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. Although India won the last Test match played at this venue against Australia in October 2010, they have finished on the losing side in four of the other seven Test matches played here since 1996 — the remaining three were draws. New Zealand, having last won a Test in India in November 1988, will, therefore, look to take advantage of the hosts’ ordinary record in Bengaluru.
The Teams
With the wicket at Bengaluru expected to be similar to the one at Hyderabad, there is hardly a chance that the hosts will tinker with their bowling combination. The one area that could be addressed, though, is Suresh Raina at No.6. In his last seven Test innings, Raina has managed scores of 12, 1, 4, 10, 0, 0, 3. However, given that this is just a two-match series, Raina could still play, but he would certainly have to make the most of the opportunity for the sake of his future in this format.
The visitors, undoubtedly, have bigger problems. Barring Trent Boult and Jeetan Patel, none of their bowlers threatened the Indian batsmen. Their fielding also, normally the highlight of any Kiwi side, was disappointing as they put down quite a few chances in the Indian first innings at Hyderabad. Ross Taylor, who has just one half-century score in his last 11 Test innings, needs to come up big. Also, it may not be a bad idea to promote James Franklin ahead of Daniel Flynn in the batting line-up given the former’s success in Indian conditions.
Key players
R Ashwin had the New Zealand players all vexed up as he finished with career best figures of 12 for 85 in the Hyderabad Test. Ashwin is also seven wickets shy of reaching the 50-wicket landmark in Tests, a feat he could achieve by setting up another win for India.
Kane Williamson was the only Kiwi batsman prepared to put up a fight against the Indian spinners in the first Test. Having scored a century on Test debut against India in 2010, Williamson looks adept at handling Indian conditions. If he can come up with a big score at No.3, it would allow the Kiwi middle order to build on the foundation.
Trivia:
Sachin Tendulkar has not scored a Test hundred in his last 23 innings. This is the longest he has gone without a hundred in his Test career.
Out of his 51 completed innings, Chris Martin has been dismissed for duck on 35 occasions. On 27 occasions, he remained unbeaten on zero. This means he has failed to open his account in an incredible 62 innings out of a total of 102!
Venue Stats:
|
Team |
Played |
Won |
Lost |
Tied |
Drawn |
Win %age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
India |
19 |
5 |
6 |
0 |
8 |
26.31 |
|
New Zealand |
2 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0.00 |
Highest total in an innings: India 626 all out in 150.2 overs v Pakistan - December 8, 2007
Lowest total in an innings: Pakistan 116 all out in 49.2 overs v India - March 13, 1987
Best individual score in an innings: Younis Khan (Pakistan) – 267 v India - March 24, 2005
Best bowling figures in an innings: Maninder Singh (India) 18.2-8-27-7 v Pakistan - March 13, 1987
Average first innings score at M Chinnaswamy Stadium: Overall – 374; since 2000 - 439
Average second innings score at M Chinnaswamy Stadium: Overall – 337; since 2000 - 401
Result summary at M Chinnaswamy Stadium:
|
Matches |
Won by side batting 1st |
Won by side batting 2nd |
Draws |
Tied |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Overall |
7 |
4 |
8 |
0 |
|
Since 2000 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
Head-to-head:
|
Matches |
Played |
India won |
NZ won |
Drawn |
Tied |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Overall |
51 |
17 |
9 |
25 |
0 |
|
In India |
30 |
12 |
2 |
16 |
0 |
|
At Bengaluru |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Last meeting between both sides at M Chinnawamy Stadium: October 18-20, 1995
Brief scores: New Zealand 145 and 233 lost to India 228 and 151-2 by eight wickets
Form guide (most recent listed first):
India: Won, Lost, Lost, Lost, Lost (1 win, 4 losses)
New Zealand: Lost, Lost, Lost, Drawn, Lost (4 losses, 1 draw)
The Squads:
India: MS Dhoni (c & wk), SR Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Zaheer Khan, Pragyan Ojha, Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, S Badrinath, SK Raina, Ishant Sharma, R Ashwin, Piyush Chawla, Ajinkya Rahane, Umesh Yadav
New Zealand: Ross Taylor (c), Trent Boult, Doug Bracewell, Daniel Flynn, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Chris Martin, Brendon McCullum, Tarun Nethula, Jeetan Patel, Tim Southee, Kruger van Wyk, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling, Kane Williamson
All stats are as on August 30, 2012
