As if that was not enough, most would have spent their pre-match waking hours watching the IPL auction and calculating their losses or gains; and with the captain's name himself being taken in vain by a bookie, they will be wondering where to turn for deliverance.
Only six players turned up at the optional training session on Wednesday; the others were hopefully only trying to gather their wits, and not fussing over issues beyond the game. Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav and Ishwar Pandey had a long, hard stint at the indoor facilities at the Westpac Stadium, owing to a morning spell of rain.
But it may hardly mean anything as the Test is at another venue: the Basin Reserve, a green haven; the curator has already declared that it would be a seamers' paradise, rendering lively pace and bounce. In other words, India are getting badgered from every side, and have virtually nowhere to run.
It is, however, in such circumstances that the Indian team is always at its dangerous best; you can surely expect it to give its all, like a final burst from a dying light. That is the only way to salvage a respectful return; otherwise, it knows, a toxic welcome is building back home.
After all, it has had a disastrous tour, with only one tie to show as a face-saving veneer; true, the all-loss record is not a real reflection of its performance so far. Almost in every match, it has stumbled only near the finish line, often heartbreakingly so.
To make it worse, it hasn't won even once in 13 away Tests. Can it at least now rack up those extra few breaths to stay on its feet for those last few steps? Can it gather a little more power in its lax arms to land the sucker punch?
The main problem so far has been that the team has not performed as a unit: the batsmen and bowlers have taken turns to become vapid, to make the team seem much below par than it actually is. The openers have struggled to give starts, even though Murali Vijay has looked in good touch while Shikhar Dhawan has, hopefully, recovered his form and confidence.
The middle-order too has looked shaky, with only Virat Kohli exuding the desire to dominate; Cheteshwar Pujara is due for a big one, while Ajinkya Rahane will be wondering if he will continue to remain luckless. Rohit Sharma will also know that his bat needs to be talking a little more.
The pacers came up with an almost incredible effort in the second innings to bring India back into the Test; they must have realised their follies and should be a lot more competitive.
New Zealand will hope their pace quartet will continue the good work, and exploit the conditions; they may be a little concerned about their batting though, especially after their collapse in their last foray. With Ross Taylor expected to miss the Test, they may even start feeling fragile. India will hope to exploit these frailties but the question really is if they can regroup in time? If they can get their minds on the job at hand?
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