CHRISTCHURCH, Feb. 23: The build-up to a cricket series in these parts of the world is very often a fiery one involving verbal volleys lobbed from rival camps in an attempt to soften up each other via mental disintegration. However, New Zealand coach Andy Moles did just the opposite when he put all aces in India’s bag ahead of Wednesday’s Twenty20 encounter that kickstarts the long drawn — two-T20s, five-ODIs and three-Test — engagement here.

"I think in all facets, they are the number one team in the world," Moles said on Monday.

"You look at the way they have played over the last 18 months, they have gone round the world and at home and they have played very, very good cricket. They have got some very experienced players, who are obviously coached really well," he added.

"Certainly in the past, Indian teams haven’t toured too well but I think they have put a lot of that to bed over the last couple of years. They have started to tour well and did really well in Australia last year. They are an excellent cricket team," the 48-year-old said.

Moles picked out Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag for special praise and said his side would be wary of them. "In Gambhir and Sehwag, they have got two of the most explosive players in the world," he said.

From New Zealand’s point of view, Moles said, "We are really proud to play at home. We like to defend our own ground. It is an opportunity again for the individuals in our team to show what they can do. We can’t wait for the series to begin because we will really start to see areas that we need to improve in and things we are doing well."

Talking about the positives, Moles said, "Having gone 2-0 up in Australia recently, the feeling in the camp was really good. I think we probably just stood back a little bit and waited for the Australians to give us opportunities to win the game.

"We have spoken about the need to make sure that we are proactive and we are going to go about looking to win games.

"Against the Indians, we need to make sure that we are at our very best in all components of our game. We are looking forward to a really tough challenge."

The coach also plans to use the inexperience of his players to his advantage.

"We have got quite a few new faces that the Indians wouldn’t have seen. It will be nice if we can catch the Indians out because they don’t know too much about some of our younger players coming through," he said.

The Kiwis have begun their homework. "We will go through all the stuff compiled about the Indians playing over the last couple of series at a meeting tonight. But of course, it’s alright knowing what you want to do, and then you have to put it into practice. That is what we are going to be looking at over the next couple of days — to make sure that we carry out the plans that we are going to come up with," Moles said.

Moles also acknowledged the IPL’s contribution in formulating their plans. "The IPL has given an opportunity for our senior players especially to play alongside and see these Indian players. That’s got to be an advantage for us. We have seen them a little bit more now that the IPL has come around. Daniel Vettori, Jacob Oram, Brendon McCullum – those senior guys need to step up and they are aware of that. They are looking at it as a fantastic opportunity to show their wares as well. For us to perform well, we need our senior players to play well," he said.

The youngsters are not far behind. "Martin Guptill did really well in Australia, as did Grant Elliott. Neil Broom is coming on as well and improving with each game. We are a developing team and it’s really excited to be involved with them at this moment."