Two-Test series offer only one chance of redemption, and India's has appeared quicker than a Shane Bond inswinger. After less than 200 overs, the ghosts of Overseas Failures Past are hovering. Pace? Don't like that. Bounce? No thanks. Swing? Rather not. At the eve-of-match press conference Stephen Fleming said what everyone else was thinking: how can India's batsmen be called great if they can't handle these conditions? India have spent much of the tour referring to their efforts on seaming wickets at Trent Bridge and Headingley, and now is their chance to walk the talk. It rained all day in Hamilton on Tuesday and another heavy downpour on Wednesday morning means that whoever wins the toss will have no hesitation bowling first. Another quick shake and stir from Bond and the series will be over almost before it has begun.

Conditions in New Zealand at the moment present a very different challenge from the days when fast bowlers struggled to get the ball above the keeper's ankles. Slow, low puddings are gradually giving way to quick, bouncy mouth-waterers, but bad weather means less preparation, and less preparation means more lateral movement. When play finally gets under way here – and the forecasts suggest the first day could be a washout – the seamers will be straining at the leash.

New Zealand have chosen their venues carefully for this series. The Basin Reserve in Wellington and Hamilton's Westpac Park are the only two Test grounds in the country which don't have to kowtow to rugby. The result is that the groundsmen can put on the cricket-blinkers. "It's no coincidence that we're playing on pitches that provide bounce and entertainment," grins Fleming.

He has every reason to feel pleased. If New Zealand avoid defeat here, they will cement their position as the third-best side in the world, which Fleming believes is a fair reflection of their cricket over the last year. Defeat would take them below Sri Lanka in the ICC Championship into fourth.

India have had little time to catch breath after being winded at Wellington, and the weather has limited their practice sessions in Hamilton to the indoor nets. Yet victory is not beyond them. In the last two years they have come from behind to surprise Australia and England. And if one of the strokemakers (Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman) can hang around with one of the technicians (Sanjay Bangar, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar), then all is not lost.

John Wright today called his batsmen "the most attractive line-up in the world" and promised that they would continue to attack. "There are a lot of New Zealand cricket fans who want to see this side bat," he said. If the policy pays off and India square the series, they move up to joint-fifth with England.

The bowlers don't pick themselves quite as easily. Tinu Yohannan, the rangy seamer whose action isn't a million miles away from Courtney Walsh, is in line for his third cap. He would replace either Ajit Agarkar, whose finger is still numb after being hit at Wellington, or Ashish Nehra, who was more snarl than seam.

New Zealand will omit Mike Mason once again after Fleming played down the possibility of leaving out the left-arm spin of Daniel Vettori, who didn't get a bowl at Wellington, and may find himself twiddling his thumbs here too if the game turns into a three-day shootout between the seamers. "We need to have our bases covered," he reasoned.

The batsmen, though, came under some criticism from Richard Hadlee, the chairman of selectors, after New Zealand made 247 at Wellington, and the local media have been whispering about the futures of Lou Vincent and Craig McMillan. Against that background, Fleming's comment that "all we need is enough runs to win a Test" adopted a cutting edge.

Both the games between these sides at Hamilton have ended in a draw, and in 1998-99, when Dravid hit 190 and 103*, they totalled 1495 runs for the loss of 30 wickets. But a result is on the cards here. "Let's not worry about the wicket," said Ganguly, who looked more relaxed than he has a right to be. D-Day is looming for India. And since they won't play another Test until October 2003, when they host New Zealand, they need to make it count.

Teams (probable)
New Zealand 1 Mark Richardson, 2 Lou Vincent, 3 Stephen Fleming (capt), 4 Craig McMillan, 5 Nathan Astle, 6 Scott Styris, 7 Jacob Oram, 8 Robbie Hart (wk), 9 Daniel Vettori, 10 Daryl Tuffey, 11 Shane Bond.

India 1 Sanjay Bangar, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 Sourav Ganguly (capt), 6 VVS Laxman, 7 Parthiv Patel (wk), 8 Ajit Agarkar, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Tinu Yohannan.

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd