What was trumpeted as the perfect buildup to the showpiece tournament on the subcontinent - a tri-series in Sri Lanka and series' in Bangladesh and India - is quickly turning into a deeply concerning reality check for New Zealand.
An eight-wicket defeat to India, which sees the tourists go 0-2 down in the five-match one-day series, overnight was New Zealand's eighth successive loss from completed matches, their last win coming in the first match of that Sri Lanka tri-series, against India, on August 10.
They were well beaten 0-4 in Bangladesh in October and are now staring down the barrel of a hefty series defeat to a second-string India after the hosts, led by a magnificent unbeaten 138 from 116 balls by stand-in captain Gautam Gambhir, cantered to a win at Jaipur.
It was a case of Sachin and Virender who as elegant left-hander Gambhir stroked his way to his eighth one-day century, which enabled India - missing star batsmen Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, among others - to surpass New Zealand's seemingly challenging total of 258 for eight for the loss of just two wickets and with seven overs to spare at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium.
New Zealand's bowlers lacked penetration and discipline on a flat batting wicket, gifting Gambhir, in particular, far too much width.
That was not lost on captain Daniel Vettori, who returned to the lineup after missing the first match with a back injury.
"I was impressed with the way our batters batted, it was a tough wicket early on and it was a competitive score," he told reporters.
"But I think we bowled extremely poorly in particularly bad areas. We gave the Indian batsmen width and if you do that in this part of the world you are going to pay."
Still, Vettori rated Gambhir's innings, which included 18 fours and was laced with aesthetically-pleasing shots through the offside, as one of the best limited overs digs he had seen.
Gambhir put on 87 for the first wicket with Murali Vijay (33) and 116 for the second with Virat Kohli, who followed up his century in the 40-run win in the first one-dayer at Guwahati with a fluent 64.
Gambhir led India as regular captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was rested for the series along with Tendulkar, Sehwag, and bowlers Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh.
The two spinners - Vettori and Nathan McCullum, who opened the bowling to good effect - were the most miserly of the New Zealand bowlers.
Vettori claimed one for 32 from eight overs while McCullum did a reasonable job at the top of the innings with none for 37 from nine overs.
Left arm quick Andy McKay snared the other Indian wicket but he was expensive, going for 59 runs off his seven overs.
New Zealand overcame tricky batting conditions early to post an above-par 258 for eight after Gambhir had inserted them.
Opener Martin Guptill anchored the innings with a patient 70 off 102 balls while Scott Styris added the mid-innings impetus with 59 from just 56 balls.
Fast bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth did all the damage for the hosts, taking four for 47 from nine overs.
Vettori replaced allrounder Grant Elliott while seamer Tim Southee came in for Daryl Tuffey, who flew home from the tour after injury his bicep at Guwahati, in the two changes for New Zealand.
Brendon McCullum again was not selected as he continues to recuperate from a back injury but Vettori was hopeful the wicketkeeper-batsman would be available for the third match at Vadodara on Saturday.
"We'll take it day by day, he's improving all the time and we'll make a decision as close as we can to the start of the game," Vettori said.
"Hopefully he's ready to go because he offers so much balance to our side and also gives us an attacking option with the bat."
