This game is a must-win for Team India, as they are 1-0 down in the series. The Rohit Sharma-led team will have to win this game to keep their 12-year long home supremacy alive and solidify their chances of making a hat-trick of ICC World Test Championship (WTC) finals as a tougher Australia
This stadium in Maharashtra has played a host to several moments of despair, resilience, joy and fightback for Team India over the recent years. India has played a total of 14 international matches at the stadium since its first match at the venue in 2012, winning eight and losing six.
Ahead of the first ODI match of the three-game series against New Zealand, India women's head coach Amol Muzumdar on Wednesday said that they are trying to focus on the strengths of the team.
Rohit Sharma-led India will lock horns against Tom Latham's New Zealand in the second Test match of the series at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Thursday.
Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar feels that batter KL Rahul should sit out if Shubman Gill is deemed fit to play the second Test against New Zealand at Pune starting from Thursday.
Gill missed the first Test against the Kiwis at Bengaluru due to neck stiffness. His presence was missed as star batter Virat Kohli could not deliver runs at number three in the first innings and India lost the match by eight wickets, marking their first loss to Kiwis on home soil since 1988
New Zealand Cricket (NZC) took to Instagram and issued a statement, saying, "Squad News | Kane Williamson will not be available for the BLACKCAPS second Test match against India, as he continues his rehabilitation from a groin strain."
Rohit Sharma-led Team India on Monday arrived in Pune ahead of their upcoming second Test match against New Zealand at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium.
Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune will have a slow-turning pitch ahead of India's second Test match against New Zealand, according to ESPNcricinfo.
New Zealand batter Kane Williamson lauded the national men's and women's teams for producing landmark wins, against India, the team's first Test on the Indian soil after 36 years and against South Africa to secure the ICC Women's T20 World Cup title.
Reflecting on his game plan, Ravindra said: "I do not necessarily play in the traditional style of Westerners who come over here. I have Indian heritage and have played a lot of cricket in India, which has helped me develop those game plans."
Following India's disappointing eight-wicket loss against New Zealand in the first Test match in Bengaluru, former cricketer Madan Lal believes that the hosts will "bounce back" in the three-game long-format series.