Toss: Vettori has chosen to bat. And the other big news is Dhoni is not playing, as he is suffering from a back problem. It was Virender Sehwag who went out for the toss. Dinesh Kartik is the keeper. No other change for India. For NZ, Jeetan Patel has come in for Kyle Mills and Jamie How replaces Flynn.
Well .. well .. well.. dramatic start with Dhoni pulling off at the last minute. The game seems to have had quite a few mystical turns even before it has begun. First, they said it will be a seaming track, then some curious reports of hungry fungus and what not emerged, which was later denied by the curator. Later, New Zealand drafted in two spinners. And now Dhoni has pulled out. Oh well.
I am Sriram Veera and will be bringing you all the action from this Test. Our scorers will be Raghav and Sanjay. Let's hope we get a good game.
Vettori: Whenever you come to Napier you want to bat first. It looks a bit different wicket but you still want to bat first. Jamie How will bat at no 3. I think it will be a traditional Napier wicket- flat and you got to work for wickets. Franklin has been selected as a No 6 batsman and we want to give him the opportunity.
Sehwag: MS has hurt his back and that's why I am here. It looks a good hard track; there should be bounce for seamers. It's a good toss to lose!
