"They have taken a step towards that in the Twenty20s. India are going to come out swinging and the Black Caps will have to be prepared to go toe to toe and battle it throughout the series," he said.

India will play a five-match ODI series, commencing from March 3 in Napier which will be followed by three Tests.

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The former New Zealand cricketer, who played 32 Tests, feels return of 29-year-old pacer Kyle Mills to the ODI team will sharpen the hosts bowling attack. "Kyle is coming good. It was just an Achilles strain. He bowled a few overs in a match situation and is coming on well. He will add value to the attack," Nash said.

The former pacer, who have 93 Test wickets to his name, feels Twenty20 cricket has brought about quite some changes to the game.

"Many things have changed since I was playing. The T20 game has changed cricket quite a bit. Young guys are coming in and playing with confidence right from ball one. That breeds confidence among the middle-order batsmen and makes for entertaining cricket," Nash said.

Asked if it was fair to stage a match before the start of second T20 tie between India and New Zealand at the Westpac stadium yesterday, Nash said, "Perhaps that wouldn't have happened back when I was playing. But with T20, I think the rules have gone out of the window a little bit."

"We haven't damaged the wicket at all. Both sides have had a good look at it. It was reasonably a true wicket."