Victory at Wellington's Basin Reserve in the first Test, which begins on Thursday, would take Ganguly level with Mohammad Azharuddin as India's most successful ever captain.

First the tourists must deal with a wicket likely to be affected by heavy weekend rain.

But Ganguly believes that his side's experience in England, where they tied a four-Test series 1-1 in August, will stand them in good stead.

"We expect to get such wickets while touring - it's nothing new," said Ganguly.

"We played in England in conditions which were seam-bowler-friendly but gave a good account of ourselves."

In Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman the tourists have a batting line-up with 56 Test hundreds and over 20,000 runs between them.

But India struggled in the opening first-class match of their tour, when they were bowled out for 209 by Central Districts before holding on for a draw in a rain-hit game.

With just two Tests in their schedule, the tourists know they must get used to the conditions quickly if they are to make amends for a 1-0 loss in 1998/99.

"Tests are more important than one-day internationals and it is crucial we do well in the first game itself as there is no time to recover in a short series," Ganguly added.

With 55mm of rain having fallen over the weekend, the tourists spend Monday practicing indoors at the nearby WestPac Stadium.

But the Basin Reserve is expected to recover in plenty of time for the match.

"The surface is nice and hard and pretty green so it will help the bowlers early on but nothing out of this world," said turf manager Trevor Jackson.

"The last thing we want is a two-day Test."