India made as many as three changes for the second Test against New Zealand in Pune as captain Rohit Sharma appears to have hit the panic button to make a comeback in the series after surprisingly losing the first Test by eight wickets. As expected, KL Rahul made way for Shubman Gill, who returned to full fitness after missing the first Test in Bengaluru due to a stiff neck. India decided to stick with Sarfaraz Khan, who scored 150 in the series opener, meaning the ax fell on Rahul once again.

There were two changes in the Indian bowling department too. Akash Deep was brought in in place of Mohammed Siraj after he somehow failed to get wickets despite good bowling in his last few appearances.

The real surprise was the choice of Washington Sundar instead of Kuldeep Yadav. Sundar was brought into the squad for the second Test as New Zealand’s batting unit was heavy on left-handers. But the fact that he would play ahead of Kuldeep and Axar Patel, who were already in the squad, was a bit of a surprise.

Sundar’s inclusion also provides more cushion for India’s lower echelons of society. They now bat as deep as No.9 with three specialist all-rounders, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin and Washington Sundar, in the XI.

India captain Rohit Sharma did not elaborate on the reasons for the three changes but spoke about the importance of the first 10-15 overs on the first day.

“When you play a Test match like this, the first session didn’t go as we expected. But we fought well in the second inning. We take a lot of positive things from this and see how we can change things here. That’s what we always want.” Find ways to get back into the friendly when you’re behind. Yes, we understand how important the first 10 overs are – Siraj, KL and Kuldeep . Akash Deep, Washington and Gill enter.

New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat. They made a change to their starting XI, bringing in left-arm spinner Mitchell Santer in place of injured pacer Matt Henry.

“The surface is a little different than last week. Not much grass. It might create a bit of a stir, as we expect when we come to these parts of the world. Obviously it was a really proud moment for this group. We celebrated, but our focus quickly turned to Pune. It’s just a matter of adapting to this surface. “I’m trying to capitalize on the confidence we built last week,” Latham said.

India vs New Zealand 2nd Test Pitch Report

Simon Doull and Dinesh Karthik with the Pune pitch report: The color of the pitch remains the same – black ground in both Bangalore and Pune. On a good length area it is much drier and much more grass free. The team that wins the toss should bat first and there is enough support for the spinners from ball one.

India playing XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(f), Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah

New Zealand starting eleven: Tom Latham(c), Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell(f), Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ajaz Patel, William ORourke