At the very last chance to test their combination before the World Cup, India will field their full-strength batting line-up in a 50-over game for the first time in 15 months. The batsmen had faltered against Australia on Sunday but will be bolstered by the return of Sachin Tendulkar against New Zealand.
Tendulkar had missed that warm-up game because of a niggle but will play on Wednesday, in what will be his third one-day match since his double-century against South Africa in Gwalior a year ago. He had a long batting session on Tuesday morning during India's practice, and also spent time working on his fielding, showing no signs of the hamstring injury that forced him to return home midway through the one-day series in South Africa a month ago.
Tendulkar will displace Gautam Gambhir from the top of the order to No. 3, the position at which Virat Kohli had much of his recent success. Kohli's form swept him to second spot in the ICC one-day rankings, but even that hasn't ensured him a place in the starting line-up. Wednesday's game will give Kohli a chance to show his prowess lower down the order, perhaps at No .6, a position where another contender, Suresh Raina, is considered a better bet. .
They're not the glamour boys of world cricket, but New Zealand have a habit of lifting their game in major tournaments. They are five-time World Cup semi-finalists, and despite being well down the ODI rankings, they reached the final of the Champions Trophy in 2009, losing to Australia when they couldn't stop Shane Watson's century. Since then they have lost Shane Bond to retirement, but retain many of the same personnel for the World Cup.
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