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New Zealand started the first Test at Ahmedabad short of confidence and a touch unsure about a few of their players. They ended it on a high, but a couple of concerns remain: Can the opener Tim McIntosh, if he is picked, prove to the world that he is not a walking wicket? Will BJ Watling get some runs at No.3? How will the batsmen handle a track that supposedly has more bounce? The Ahmedabad pitch was flat and the middle order cashed in. Ross Taylor expects the track at Uppal, hosting its first Test match, will have a bit more for the spinners. Hyderabad has hosted three Tests before this, all against New Zealand, at the multi-purpose Lal Bahadur stadium.
India went to Ahmedabad with a couple of worries - the batting form of Gautam Gambhir and Rahul Dravid, and the bowling form of the spin twins Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha. Dravid scored a hundred in the first innings, but Gambhir and the spinners didn't have much to smile about on a batsmen-friendly track. All of them practised hard in the nets in Uppal. As ever, Dravid had a long net session. Gary Kirsten fired down short balls from a tennis racquet and Dravid spent his time swaying away or riding the bounce.
The conditions are slightly damp as there was some rain earlier in the week and It will be interesting to see whether the strip will provide some seam movement on the first day. Some have said that there might be bit more spin on this new pitch but Uppal has traditionally produced batsmen-friendly surfaces. We will have to wait and see how this particular track turns out.
