India vs New Zealand, 3rd Test, Weather Forecast and Pitch Report of Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune

Crucial World Test Championship points are at stake, the third Test holds some significance for both India and New Zealand despite the series is expected to be a dead rubber for the visitors. Despite the Kiwis gaining an unassailable lead going into the game at the Wankhede Stadium, the hosts will still receive a huge crowd support.

Coming into the series, New Zealand were the obvious underdogs, especially considering the manner in which the series against Sri Lanka panned out for them. However, they came at India at full tilt, blowing them away for their lowest Test score at home on the very first day of the fixture. Despite India posing a valiant fightback in their second essay, it was not to be as the Black Caps ran away with an eight-wicket victory in what was their first Test win in India since 1988.

India were projected to come back in the second Test of the series in Pune. In fact, they did as well. New Zealand were skittled for a cheap score on the very first day. However, it was a one-man show courtesy of Mitchell Santner who ran through the batting lineup to grant New Zealand a healthy 103-run lead, something from which they could never recover. India ended up being comprehensively beaten, hence ending an 18-series unbeaten streak in the longest format across a 12-year span.

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Here's a look at the weather forecast expected in Pune for Day 1 of the third Test

Meanwhile, speaking of the weather conditions for the Mumbai Test, as per the freshest developments based on AccuWeather, the first day is set to witness a 65% likelihood of precipitation. The temperature is expected to float around the early 30° degrees in Celsius The cloud cover increases from 43% to 70% as the day transitions from morning to afternoon.

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The game can be very well anticipated to start at the normal time. However, a stop-start flow to proceedings is expected post-lunch. There is a genuine possibility of thunderstorms predicted from 2 pm.

However, the game is anticipated to produce an absolute result since the rest of the scheduled four days have a minimal to zero percentage probability of rain hindrances. Barring the first day's play, the venue is expected to be packed to the rafters depending on how the game pans out.