The seven-wicket defeat at Christchurch in the opening match must have surely hit the reputation of Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men hard. Victory in Friday's outing will also boost morale ahead of the five-match ODI series, starting on March 3.

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However, the visitors, who suffered their second successive defeat to the Kiwis in the shortest and newest format of the game, will have to do a lot of catching up, as the hosts have a distinct advantage of having bowling all-rounders in their ranks in contrast to India, who rely on their batsmen to bowl in the middle overs.

Photographs: Reuters | Text: PTI