New Zealand captain Tom Latham has won the toss and opted to bat, on Day 1 of the 2nd Test in Pune on Thursday.
India have made three changes with KL Rahul, Mohd Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav making way for Shubman Gill, Akash Deep and Washington Sundar.
Playing XIs:
India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(w), Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah
New Zealand: Tom Latham(c), Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell(w), Glenn Phillips, Tim Southee, Mitchell Santner, Ajaz Patel, William ORourke
The pitch report from the middle says that the track is batsmen friendly with lots of assistance to spinners and the team that wins the toss should opt to bat first.
Jolted by an unexpected loss on home turf, India will look for the right balance as they aim for a series-levelling victory against a resilient New Zealand in the second Test, starting in Pune from Thursday.
After being shot out for an embarrassing 46 in the first innings of the Bengaluru Test, India's resolute show in the second innings could not prevent an eight-wicket pounding which saw the hosts in the World Test Championship table dropping points even though it continues to hold the top spot.
Winning the next two Tests will be first priority for Rohit Sharma and his men before they hit the Australian shores for a high-profile five-Test series next month.
India's free-flowing batters cut a sorry figure when William O'Rourke and the seasoned duo of Matt Henry and Tim Southee served a wake-up call which no one saw coming on a pace-friendly track that was admittedly misread by Rohit despite overcast conditions.
Preparing a rank turner could be one way out of the mire but it has backfired on India twice in the past.
Australia hammered them by a monumental 333-run margine eight years ago while the same team handed them a nine-wicket defeat in Indore last year.
With Shubman Gill priming for a comeback, one among K L Rahul and Sarfaraz Khan will have to make way. Coach Gautam Gambhir has expressed his desire to give the latter a long rope but Sarfaraz has made a strong case with his second innings 150 in Bengaluru.
One could say a big score for each of the two seniors, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, is around the corner. The latter, especially, would be keen to draw from his 254 not out in Pune in 2019-20, which paved the way for an innings and 137-run thrashing of South Africa.
By his own lofty standards, Yashasvi Jaiswal endured twin failures in the Bengaluru Test and the young batter looked to iron out his flaws when he had multiple stints in the nets.
As much as the Indian camp values Rahul's credentials in Test cricket, the right-handed batter hasn't looked his best and runs haven't come off his bat on a consistent basis.
The Karnataka batter is locked in the fight for a spot against a red-hot Sarfaraz, who followed his 222 not out in the Irani Cup for Mumbai with a superlative 150 in the first Test in Bengaluru, helping India fight against all odds.
Rishabh Pant kept wickets for a short period towards end of India's training session on Tuesday but it remains to be seen if he is 100 per cent fit to endure match workload.
Ravichandran Ashwin will look to make the most of what will be on offer over the next five days, with Ravindra Jadeja in tow.
The addition of Washington Sundar, who can spin the ball away from New Zealand's southpaws in captain Tom Latham, Devon Conway and the immensely talented Rachin Ravindra, would also bolster India's batting.
On their part, New Zealand have done fairly well given the absence of Kane Williamson from two of the three Tests on this tour. Will Young appeared resolute in the middle-order which features Ravindra's brilliance.
New Zealand will, however, expect more off Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell's bats and at the same time want the others to try and emulate Southee's feats in the first innings of the opening Test.