India insist ‘no panic’ ahead of must-win NZ Test

WELLINGTON: India said there was no need to panic on Friday ahead of the second Test against New Zealand, insisting this week’s 10-wicket defeat had helped them open a “closed mindset”.

New Zealand quick Trent Boult indicated the odds are stacked against India at Hagley Park in Christchurch, rating it as better for the bowlers than Wellington’s Basin Reserve, the venue for the first Test.

But India coach Ravi Shastri said their heavy defeat, which ended an unbeaten streak stretching back more than a year, was an important learning experience for his team. “A shake-up like that is good because it opens your mindset,” Shastri said on Friday, a day before the second and final Test.

“When you’re on the road winning all the time, you’ve not tasted defeat, you can have a closed mindset,” he added. “Once you’ve seen what has happened there are opportunities to learn. You know what strategies New Zealand mentally are employing and you are prepared.

“We’ve had a great run in the Test arena. We’ve played eight and won seven and so one loss there’s absolutely no need to panic.” In six Tests at Hagley Oval, New Zealand are unbeaten against South Asian sides having won against Sri Lanka (twice), Pakistan and Bangladesh, while they have lost once to Australia and drawn with England.

The New Zealand attack has been reinforced by the return of short-ball maestro Neil Wagner, leaving coach Gary Stead to decide whether to drop Kyle Jamieson or spinner Ajaz Patel.