That was one area where we feel that we could have worked or should have worked more. “Have presence in the field, and give ourselves the best chance”.
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Ashwin, now the third-best Test bowler in the world as well as the best all-rounder in the format, shared 54 wickets with Jadeja as the Indians mauled the hapless Proteas on rank-turners past year and he’s become one of the most unsafe spinners in the world. He can draw motivation from selection committee chairman Sandeep Patil, who said, “Rohit is a fabulous player, enormous talent he has got, but he hasn’t got a long run in Test cricket”. That’s where it is important for experience among players to come into it. Bowlers, batters to adjust quickly. “At the same time, we can not discard our fast bowlers because in Indian conditions, there is always the element of reverse swing, and it is something we have been working on”, Williamson told reporters on arriving in Delhi.
New Zealand’s captain Kane Williamson, front, catches a ball during a practice session ahead of the first cricket test against India in Kanpur, India, Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2016. And I suppose sweeping isn’t a big part of the Indian players’ batting. They’ve got great footwork, they get forward, they get back and come down the wicket.
The Black Caps can take some confidence from the fact that they beat India in their own backyard in World T20 in Nagpur this year and it was the spin duo of Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi that helped the Kiwis beat India at their own game. So, it’s all about getting rid of all those feelings. “If someone is bowling a good spell you want to pay respect to the bowler, but not so much that you get under pressure. But nature of the worldwide cricket is such that you go from one tour to another and you can not get everything flawless”, reasoned Williamson.
The Mohali Test against South Africa last November is a case in point, as the trio shared 19 wickets to rout the Proteas within four days on a slow, turning wicket. “There was so much focus on playing overseas that we kept focussing on (playing) pace bowling and didn’t pay too much attention to spin”. At the same time, a lot of positives came out of it. “Certainly, the wicket looks very dry, not a lot of grass on it”.
All-rounder Jimmy Neesham is also ruled out of the first Test after suffering a rib injury, but is expected to be fit for the second Test on September 30. “For example, they were good players of seam bowling in the previous year but they struggled on a seaming track (the following season) because of what the modern day batsman encounters”.
The real challenge however, will be for the batsmen, when they face the might of the Indian spin department.
Williamson and Taylor would look to show that their side is better than Australia and South Africa, who proved to be extremely poor players of spin.
For the visiting New Zealand side however, the upcoming series is not just a chance for them to conquer the “final frontier” – winning a Test series on Indian soil, but it will also be an opportunity for Kane Williamson “the leader” to boost his captaincy record by achieving his first Test series win against a higher-ranked side. “We will see how things unfold”, said Williamson. Obviously driven initially by Brendon McCullum. They dropped their opening pace bowlers, picked three spinners and burst through the group stages.
But deep down, they also know that the 500th Test match is just another game.
They have not just won them either; in most instances they have taken apart the opposition.
“I won’t call it a concern, but it is an area we can improve”, India captain Virat Kohli said. “That’s something which you don’t see often in a foreign team”, Kumble told reporters here on Tuesday. “I don’t think there any intrigue left”.
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“We expect very good competition and hard fought cricket”. New Zealand, which is now on 95 points, will remain at seventh position with any of these margins with the maximum drop to 91 points in case it loses all three matches.
