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Team India would look to tighten the noose around a struggling New Zealand with a barrage of spin in the second ODI in Mount Maunganui on Saturday.
But before that, the men in blue were in for a surprise.
Ahead of the second ODI against New Zealand, the Indians were greeted with ‘powhiri’ – a traditional welcome ceremony, performed by the indigenous people (Maori) of the Bay Oval area.
The ceremony involves speeches, dancing and singing and finally the hongi – the ceremonial touching of noses.
The Maori are the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand who originated with settlers from eastern Polynesia and arrived in the country in several waves of canoe voyages between 1250 and 1300.