New Zealand's McCullum plays a shot as India's captain Dhoni watches in Hyderabad.
New Zealand's McCullum plays a shot as India's captain Dhoni watches in Hyderabad. Reuters

New Zealand take on India in the first of the two-test series in Auckland on Thursday with the Indians raring to make their presence felt after being relegated to a 4-0 thrashing in the ODis.

Where to Watch Live

Play is scheduled to start at 10pm GMT. Live coverage will be available on Sky Sports 2 and Sky Sports 2 HD.

Overview

New Zealand will be looking to build on their much gained confidence in the ODIs where they completely outplayed the number one team in the world and beat them 4-0 while tying the third ODI which otherwise would have been a whitewash.

The Kiwis have a set opening pair to do the honours, with the likes of Peter Fulton and Hamish Rutherford in good form coming into the game. The host also have a brilliant strength in depth in their batting line-up in the form of Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor who follow the opening pair.

Skipper Brendan McCullum and wicketkeeper BJ Watling are no mugs with the bat and can do a job if the situation demands. Their bowling line-up is among the best with the likes of Tim Southee and Neil Wagner capable of putting any batsman under pressure.

With the overcast conditions forecasted, McCullum will be looking to put India to bat first and put their batsmen under pressure amid conditions that are conducive to fast bowling.

Meanwhile, India will be looking to bounce back from the ignominy of their ODI performance and prove to the world that they are capable of performing outside the subcontinent.

The Indians are likely to start the same eleven that played the first test against South Africa with Shikhar Dhawan coming back into the side. The likes of Chesteshwar Pujara are also likely tomake the line-up which will add some much needed stability to the middle order.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni will have trouble picking his bowling line-up, with Zaheer Khan the only sure starter in the side. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is likely to get the nod ahead of Ishwar Pandey given the windy conditions with Ishant Sharma unlikely to get a look-in given his recent performances.

Team News

New Zealand

Probable Line-Up: Brendon McCullum, Corey Anderson, Trent Boult, Peter Fulton, Hamish Rutherford, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling (wk), Kane Williamson.

India

Probable Line-up: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (c & wk), Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami,

India