By CricketCountry Staff
India would again rely on the guile and skill of their spinners when they take on a hapless New Zealand in the second and final cricket Test starting on Friday.
Published: Aug 31, 2012, 09:24 AM (IST)
Edited: Aug 31, 2012, 09:24 AM (IST)
India look to complete a whitewash over New Zealand in Bangalore © AFP
By CricketCountry Staff
Bengaluru: Aug 31, 2012
India would again rely on the guile and skill of their spinners when they take on a hapless New Zealand in the second and final cricket Test starting on Friday.
A 2-0 triumph would go a long way in erasing the bitter memories of previous season during which India were routed 4-0 by both England and Australia when they toured there.
The Indians have bounced back in style this season by outplaying New Zealand inside four days in a lop-sided opening Test on the turning track of Hyderabad.
Thoroughly outplayed in Hyderabad, the Kiwis will be hoping to find a way to counter the Indian spinners in the match which was expected to be affected by the inclement weather prevailing here for the past few days.
Though Chinnaswamy curator Narayan Raju talked about a tinge of grass available on the pitch, the New Zealand think tank doesn’t hope for spin respite. They expect groundsmen to shave the pitch off and make sure it is dry.
The inability of the New Zealand batsmen to handle spin was exposed in Hyderabad where 18 of their 20 wickets fell to tweakers.
With off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin taking 12 wickets and left-armer Pragyan Ojha grabbing six, India underlined their supremacy on home soil by winning the first Test convincingly.
India will once again look towards the spin duo to sweep the short series against the struggling Black Caps.
Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is aware of the role the spin duo played in India’s victory in the last home Test series against the West Indies in November 2011 during which they shared 42 wickets in three matches.
Teams:
New Zealand: Brendon McCullum, Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor(c), Daniel Flynn, James Franklin, Kruger van Wyk(w), Doug Bracewell, Tim Southee, Jeetan Patel, Trent Boult
India: Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Cheteshwar Pujara, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni(w/c), Ravichandran Ashwin, Zaheer Khan, Pragyan Ojha, Umesh Yadav
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