Sachin Tendulkar will have another fitness test on the morning of the second one-day international at Napier. Tendulkar has yet to recover from his ankle injury, and was not in the nets with his team-mates on Saturday. Tendulkar's absence forced India to try a new opening combination in Shiv Sunder Das and Virender Sehwag in the previous match. Sourav Ganguly said that Sanjay Bangar could open with Sehwag if Tendulkar failed his fitness test.

Harbhajan Singh and Bangar, who both missed the last match with hand and knee injuries respectively, were back in contention for Sunday's match.

Ganguly said the pitch looked good for batting and he was looking forward to an improved performance from his batsmen so as to square the series. "The pitches made more news in Tests and the last one-day game," he said. "The fast bowlers on both sides bowled well as they got a lot of help from the surfaces.

"They [the batsmen] are all professionals and know what is expected of them at this stage. It is a matter of winning just one game and I am sure the victory will turn things around for us."

Ganguly's counterpart Stephen Fleming had fewer worries. "We have to keep the momentum going for a long time as the World Cup squad is very much on the selectors' minds," he said. "Consistency is what we are looking for."

New Zealand were expected to rest Shane Bond and include the medium-pacer Paul Hitchcock.

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