New Zealand was handed an innings defeat in the first Test of the Trans-Tasman Trophy by Australia. The Black Caps will look to level the series while giving a fitting farewell to their skipper Brendon McCullum, who will play the last international match of his career when the two teams meet in the second Test from Saturday at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch.
New Zealand have done it before, as they came from behind against Australia in the Test series' in 1993 and 2011.
"We don't want to get too caught up in the big occasion, obviously it's Brendon's last game, but I think his philosophy as captain has always been to go out and enjoy it and give it your best so that's what we will be focussing on," New Zealand batsman Henry Nicholls was quoted as saying by the official website of New Zealand cricket.
To win the match, though, New Zealand will have to bat a lot better, after their poor first innings performance consigned them to the big defeat.
The Aussies, on the other hand, will be keen to reclaim that No.1 spot in the ICC Test rankings. In order to achieve that, they just need to draw the second Test or better. If they lose, India will retain their position at the top of the rankings.
"The goal of this team is to be No. 1 in all formats of the game, and if we win this week, we tick off two of those formats. But for me it is about making sure we are improving and being better," Australia captain Steve Smith was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
The pitch at the Hagley Oval looks similar to the one at Basin Reserve. The bowlers are likely to get a lot of assistance from the wicket. The team winning the toss will look to bowl first.
"I think it actually looks pretty similar to the last wicket the day before the game," Smith added.
"It's quite hard to tell how it's going to play until you get out there on the morning of the game when they've given it a roll and you see it for the last time."
Squads:
New Zealand expected XI: Brendon McCullum (C), Martin Guptill, Tom Latham, Kane Williamson, Henry Nicholls, Corey Anderson, BJ Watling (wk), Matt Henry, Mark Craig, Tim Southee, Trent Boult.
Australia XI: Steve Smith (C), David Warner, Joe Burns, Usman Khawaja, Adam Voges, Mitchell Marsh, Peter Nevill (wk), James Pattinson, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Jackson Bird.
Where to watch live:
The 2nd Test of the Trans-Tasman series between New Zealand and Australia is scheduled for a 10:30 a.m. local time (3 a.m. IST, 8.30 a.m. AEDT, 9:30 p.m. GMT) start. Unfortunately, there will be no live coverage of the game in India.
Viewers in Australia can catch the live action of the 2nd Test between Australia and New Zealand on Fox Sports. The live streaming option will be available on Foxtel Play and cricket.com.au.
Audience in the UK can tune into Sky Sports 3 and Sky Sports HD 3 to watch New Zealand vs Australia 2nd Test live. Watch Sky Sports will live stream the match at the same time.
Fans in New Zealand can watch New Zealand vs Australia 2nd Test on SkySport.
US viewers can tune into Willow TV. They can also live-stream the 2nd Test on Willow TV online.
