India will go into the encounter in an upbeat mood after the massive skipper Sachin Tendulkar (186 not out) and Rahul Dravid (153) with their world record partnership sank the Kiwis by 174 runs.

After two high-scoring affairs where the team winning the toss batted out the opposition, India will look to tighten their bowling with seasoned pace duo Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad rested and youngsters Ajit Agarkar and T Kumaran inducted.

The home team is certain to test Mumbai paceman Agarkar, back in contention after a long lay-off following injury, alongside gangling Orissa seamer Debashish Mohanty who looks set to play in his first match of the Kiwi tour.India will also be looking to ensure that no complacency creeps into the ranks as in their last encounter here.

A casual India were shocked by African minnows Kenya last year at the Roop Singh Stadium in a triangular tournament though the home team beat them to win the title.

After the two high-scoring clashes at Rajkot and Hyderabad, the third one also seems to rest on the batting might of the sides. The hosts, after savaging the Kiwi bowling, are in the right mood to carry on and clinch the series before the final match at Delhi on Nov 17.

A minor worry though emerged for the hosts with Ajay Jadeja, suffering from a sore throat, looking a doubtful starter. The seasoned middle-order batsman stayed away from nets.

The Gwalior pitch also seems to predict a big scoring match and it will be a big test for Agarkar, making his return since he broke down at the Chennai nets ahead of India's Sri Lankan trip late in August.

Agarkar looked quite sharp during the nets while bowling to Tendulkar, Dravid and Robin Singh and looked quite sharp. The selectors may go in for a three-man pace attack by including newcomer Kumaran also in the final eleven.``The wicket is full of runs, but bowlers can benefit early in the morning as in the first 45 minutes, it will be damp and heavy. Heavy dew may also give the team bowling first the benefit of swing,'' curator Sanjeev agarwal said.

The visitors, who lost key batsman Craig McMillan due to a broken finger mid-way through the Test series, have been handicapped by paceman Dion Nash's return home after he broke down at Rajkot with a back injury.On the placid Indian tracks, their predominantly pace dominated approach has had little say. New Zealand might rearrange their bowling strategies after it came a cropper in both matches. ``We are re-thinking on our bowling strategy. We are looking at the things which we didn't do in the last two games,'' Fleming told reporters after a training session this afternoon.

The teams, after having a harrowing time in Hyderabad, were quite satisfied with the practice facilities, but invading fans continued to dog them and people walking on to the practice area created problems here as well.

The win-loss record for India against New Zealand after the Hyderabad match stands at 28-23.

Teams
India (from): Sachin Tendulkar (C), Saurav Ganguly, Devang gandhi, Rahul Dravid, Ajay Jadeja, Vijay Bhardwaj, Robin Singh, MSK Prasad, Nikhil Chopra, Anil Kumble, Ajit Agarkar, T Kumaran, Sunil Joshi, Debashis Mohanty
New Zealand (from): Stephen Fleming (C), Craig Spearman, Nathan Astle, Roger Twose, Chris Cairns, Adam Parore, Chris Harris, Scott Styris, Daniel Vettori, Shayne O'Connor, Chris Drum, Gary Stead, Mat Horne.
Umpires: K Parthasarthi & SC Gupta.
TV umpire: S Asnani
Match Referee: Ranjan Madugulle (Sri Lanka)
Hours of play: 0900 to 1230 hours and 1310 to 1640 hours.