Brendon McCullum
Brendon McCullum [Reuters]

New Zealand and India battle it out in the second and the last test match scheduled between the two sides in the two match series at the Basin Reserve in Wellington.

Where to Watch Live

Play is scheduled to start at 10:00pm GMT on Thursday. Live coverage is on Sky Sports 2 and Sky Sports 2 HD. Follow the live text updates of the game on ESPN Cricinfo.

Overview

New Zealand already lead the series 1-0 courtesy of their victory in the first test earlier this month. Brendon McCullum's managed to halt India's heroic chase in the final day of the match at the Eden Park in Auckland.

In the first innings, New Zealand posted a huge total of 503 runs before running out of wickets on the second day. Kane Williamson (113) and skipper McCullum (224) were the star of the Black Caps batting lineup as the opening pair of Peter Fulton (13) and Hamish Rutherford (6) departed with just 23 runs on the scoreboard.

Ishant Sharma's six-wicket haul was the major highlight for India as they could not prevent the hosts from setting up a mammoth total.

India could only reduce the deficit by 202 runs as the second best side in test cricket failed to match the bowling prowess of Neil Wagner, Tim Southee and Trent Boult. The latter two got three wickets to their name while the former took four in just 11 overs bowled by him.

Rohit Sharma (72) was the highest run-scorer for the away side as they once again took to the field trailing by 301 runs.

The Indian bowlers were not going to shy away as they tore through the opposition batting lineup conceding just 105 runs in the second innings.

Mohammed Shami and I Sharma took three wickets each while Zaheer Khan added two to his account. Ravindra Jadeja managed to acquire one wicket and also had a hand in dismissing the Black Caps skipper for a run out.

With a target of 406 runs to chase, the visitors batted bravely in the final innings of the match as Shikhar Dhawan (115) scored a century. Virat Kohli's cameo of 67 went in vain as the three New Zealand bowlers struck once again taking the same number of wickets like they did in the first innings to arrest India's surge at 366 runs.

The hosts on the game by just 40 runs on the final day and having already won the One Day International series 4-0, McCullum will be keen to achieve their second series victory against MS Dhoni's side.

Odds by 888Sport

Top Batsman

India

  • Virat Kohli – Industry best 3/1
  • Ajinkya Rahane – Industry best 8/1
  • MS Dhoni – Industry best 10/1
  • Ravichandran Ashwin – Industry best 33/1

New Zealand

  • Hamish Rutherford – Industry best 5/1
  • James Neesham – Industry best 16/1
  • BJ Watling – Industry best 12/1

Top Bowler

India

  • Ravichandran Ashwin – Industry best 4/1
  • Ravindra Jadeja – Industry best 5/1

Team News

New Zealand

Probable LineUp: Peter Fulton, Hamish Rutherford, Kane Williamson, Tom Latham, Brendon McCullum (c),Corey Anderson, BJ Watling (wk), James Neesham, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner, Trent Boult

India

Probable Lineup: Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Zaheer Khan, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma