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"Pitches in NZ not a problem"

If the Kiwis feel that the bounce in the wicket could give them the edge in the bowling aspect, they would have to deal with Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma, who are regarded as the best fast bowling pair in the world cricket. The pair had devastated Australia at home, a trauma from which Ricky Ponting is struggling to recover.

India's Twenty20 record is encouraging, in that they have lost only two of their 11 matches played so far, losing to New Zealand in the World Cup at Johannesburg and Australia at Melbourne.

But whatever be their might, India would be foolhardy to underestimate the inexperienced New Zealand outfit, which had given a good account of itself in the just-concluded series against Australia, wherein they drew the ODI series 2-2 and lost the Twenty international by one run.

Coach Andy Molls has pinned his hopes on Daniel Vettori, arguably the best left-arm spinner in world cricket, McCullum, Oram, Martin Guptill, Grant Elliot and Neil Broom. But if the weather does not play spoilsport, India certainly have the spice and curry to bury the Kiwi challenge.

Kirsten unconcerned about the past

India coach Gary Kirsten has already made it clear that his wards would not be unduly worried about either the track or the weather here, for they are well prepared to adapt to any situations.

"We are aware of what to expect and are planning for that. Every wicket around the world might well be different. You are not going to find two wickets that are exactly the same.

"So we are not really focusing on the wickets. But we are doing the work we need to do. We are looking to adapt to the situations that we are confronted with. The team is well-balanced and our seamers have done particularly well in the last year," Kirsten said.

"Everyone's talking a lot about the wickets, but the wickets I saw in the games against West Indies seemed to play really well. It is not something that will concern us too much," he added.