Unfortunately, the local weather forecast for the first three days isn’t very promising. Rain could force the game to adopt a stop-start nature and keep the groundstaff on their toes. It’s likely to improve on the last two days, but that’s later.
For the Kiwis, there has been development besides rain. Pacer Ben Sears has been ruled out of Test series due to a knee injury. Uncapped bowler Jacob Duffy has been called as a replacement.
India are coming into this Test on the back of a 2-0 win against Bangladesh while New Zealand suffered a 2-0 loss in Sri Lanka. The hosts are currently on top of the World Test Championships standings while 2021 title-winners New Zealand are in sixth position.