India vs New Zealand, 2nd Test, Weather Forecast and Pitch Report of Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune

India and New Zealand, Pune Pitch. (Source -RevSportz)

After the manner in which India was toppled over by New Zealand in the first Test at the Chinnaswamy, there has been much excitement brewing over the kicking off of the second game of the series in terms of how the hosts would react. There have been quite a lot of discussions that have been thrown around regarding the pitch and how India would want to leverage their home advantage and would want to make the most of the black soil track that the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium is set to offer.

A lot weighs upon the upcoming fixture with respect to the ongoing 2023-25 cycle of the World Test Championship as well. Despite going down in the first Test by an eight-wicket margin, India still retained the top spot with eight wins, three losses, and one draw in the 12 matches they have played. Their points tally is 98 and 68.06% points percentage.

However, Australia and Sri Lanka are not too far behind in terms of their respective PCTs (62.50% and 55.56% respectively). It will be a massive boost for both those teams, in particular, Sri Lanka, if India don’t make full use of their chance to extend their league.

The Border-Gavaskar Trophy is coming up too. That is one series that cannot be taken for granted by India, despite them emerging victorious on the past two occasions of them traveling Down Under. Playing versus Australia is always a challenge, but playing Australia in Australia is a completely different proposition altogether. Hence, keeping that in mind, the second Test becomes all the more significant. However, it will be down to the weather conditions that Pune presents during the slated five days of the match.

Also Read: World Test Championship 2023-25: How many wins does Team India need to qualify for final after loss to New Zealand in Bengaluru?

Here’s a look at the weather forecast expected in Pune for Day 1 of the second Test

As per AccuWeather, the first day is set to witness a “blend of sun and clouds”. The temperature is expected to float around the early 30°Cs. The cloud cover reduces from 58% to 43% as the day transitions from morning to afternoon.

Despite there being cloud cover and a few grim clouds flowing over the stadium, the probability of precipitation remains negligibly low at 1%. Hence, play is expected to be conducted without as many interruptions as we saw during the first Test, with the first day completely washed out due to rain.

Also Read: IND vs NZ 2024: Kane Williamson ruled out of second Test as well, to continue rehab for groin strain in New Zealand

In team news, India has added Washington Sundar to their ranks, and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson continues to be sidelined due to an injury to the groin.

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