New Zealand seek to break Napier drought

From a venue where they have their best win-loss ratio among home venues, New Zealand move to a ground which is, historically, their worst: in seven Tests at McLean Park, New Zealand are yet to win one. They've lost two - to Sri Lanka in 1995 and to England last year - and drawn five. India have played only one Test here, in 1990, and the game was badly interrupted by the weather, with no play on the first and last days. More than anything else, the match is probably remembered more for Sachin Tendulkar missing his first Test century by 12 runs. Since 2005, three out of four Tests have been drawn.

Plenty has been said and written about the pitch, but if past records are any indication, the batsmen will be happy with the surface. The runs per wicket in each innings since 2000 is quite high, and the 40-plus average in the third and fourth innings suggests the pitch stays true even in later parts of the game. In four Tests during this period, ten centuries have been scored, a healthy average of two-and-a-half per match. Captains winning the toss have generally preferred to bat. New Zealand are the only team to put the opposition in, and the move backfired in 1995, when Sri Lanka won by 241 runs.

New Zealand's batsmen have done reasonably well here too: Jesse Ryder scored 57 and 59 not out in his only Test, against West Indies last year. Tim McIntosh got his maiden Test century in that game, while Daniel Flynn managed a half-century.

New Zealand have indicated that Jeetan Patel will partner Daniel Vettori in this game, and while the Indians might not mind this too much, Patel has an excellent record at this ground. In two Tests he has taken ten wickets at an average of less than 30, and the last time he bowled here, he took 5 for 110 in the second innings against West Indies. Daniel Vettori hasn't enjoyed as much success, though, averaging almost 48 runs for each of his eight wickets. Among the fast bowlers, Iain O'Brien did well in his only Test here, taking 6 for 75 in the first innings against West Indies. For the struggling Kyle Mills, though, this ground won't evoke pleasant memories: in two Tests, he has bowled 44 overs but hasn't taken a wicket.

Despite New Zealand looking to field an extra spinner for this Test, the overall stats still indicate that fast bowlers fare marginally better - they've taken more than twice the number of wickets that the spinners have, and at a better average as well.

The partnership stats too suggest that the new ball offers the fast bowlers something to work with: the average first-wicket stand is only 34.25, but it goes up significantly in the middle of the innings - 57.66 for the fourth wicket, and 61.18 for the fifth - which indicates that the new ball could be crucial in this Test.