India dropped KL Rahul, who scored only 0 and 12 runs in the first Test against New Zealand, from the playing XI for the second Test, which will be played at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium.

India coach Gautam Gambhir has vehemently backed KL Rahul to come good amid mounting scrutiny on his recent form in Test cricket. After making a duck in India's 46 all out in the first innings of the Bengaluru Test,

The second IND vs NZ test match got underway on Thursday morning at the MCA Stadium in Pune. In the first test in Bengaluru, New Zealand had registered a historic win, their third in India and their first in 36 years.