Hyderabad: Under-fire opener Gautam Gambhir earned sound backing from skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni ahead of the second Test against New Zealand starting on Friday. The left-handed opener has struggled with the bat of late, aggregating 86 runs from his last 10 Test innings.

Gambhir, 29, missed India's Test against Australia in Bangalore last month with a knee injury and his replacement Murali Vijay scored a solid 139, putting pressure on his more experienced team-mate to perform.

"Players do go out of form," Dhoni said on Thursday. "It happens to everyone in cricket. Gambhir has set the benchmark so high that expectations of him have grown. With Gambhir, it is more about the pressure to perform than the fear of failure. The kind of innings he has played in the past shows how good a cricketer he is. He is returning from an injury and is working hard on his fitness. I am sure he will come good with the bat sooner than later."

Gambhir, with 2,846 runs from 34 Tests at an average of nearly 50, has been pivotal in India's rise to the top of Test rankings. He was named International Cricket Council Test Player of the Year in 2009 for a series of good starts in tandem with opening partner Virender Sehwag.

Gambhir's 11-hour, second-innings knock of 137 against New Zealand in Napier last year helped India salvage a hard-fought draw. Dhoni said Gambhir was a proven performer and Vijay would have to wait for his chance to make it to the squad.

"Gambhir is our best bet for the opener's slot. Vijay has done well whenever he has been given the chance. But I think he will have to wait his turn." Vijay, 26, has scored 509 runs from the eight Tests he has played so far at an average of 42.41.

Dhoni also supported Suresh Raina, who cut a sorry figure in the drawn first Test in Ahmedabad, scoring three and a duck. "You cannot form an opinion on a player based on one match," Dhoni said. "We must give everyone a chance. It is easy to sit outside and make comments. But one must step into the player's shoes to understand how tough it is to go out and perform each time."

Dhoni hoped the wicket at the new Rajiv Gandhi Stadium - hosting its first Test - would give the bowlers a fair chance after a placid one in Ahmedabad made the draw inevitable.

Hyderabad has hosted three Tests before, all against New Zealand, but at the older Lal Bahadur Stadium. "We have played quite a few one-day games on this wicket. It is not difficult to judge this wicket. It is flat but will offer a bit of bounce which will allow the batsman to play his shots."

The third and final Test will be played in Nagpur from November 20-24 followed by five one-day internationals from November 28.