New Zealanders start well, display intent to counter spin

ENCOURAGING Though the Kotla wicket on the first day of their warm-up against Mumbai was true and supported seam initially, the Kiwi batsmen jumped out to dominate the spinners

NEW DELHI: New Zealand would be happy after hitting the right notes against Mumbai at the Ferozeshah Kotla on Friday. The visitors seemed to have a plan for the seven-week assignment in India and executed it well to post 324/7. They declared in the final session and also picked up a solitary wicket.

With the wickets expected to support turn during the series, the visitors batted to negate the challenge. Though the Kotla wicket was true and supported seam initially, the Kiwi batsmen jumped out to dominate the spinners. Had they looked to settle down, they could have batted sedately but that wouldn’t have solved the challenge ahead. When India played South Africa on dust bowls at home last year, it was Ravindra Jadeja who made the difference. Similarly, AB de Villiers showed that dominating the spinners was the only way to fight back. In 2013, Aussie Michael Clarke used his feet well against R Ashwin & Co to score 130. In that series, Steve Smith and David Warner too had fifties and succeeded by stepping out to the spinners. STEPPING OUT On Friday, Mumbai introduced leftarm spinner Vishal Dabholkar in the tenth over and Kane Williamson jumped out to hit him over the head. The ball wasn’t turning much but Williamson backed himself to jump out and kill the turn. Williamson, who showed exemplary footwork in the 2016 WT20 and IPL, followed a simple pattern. He cut the risk out and preferred to use his feet. After every three or four balls, he stepped out premeditatedly and pushed for a single.

“The way the guys adapted to conditions was important, even though the ball was not turning that big. So using the feet and coming down the wicket to hit over the top was a good method,” said opener Tom Latham.

While Latham enjoyed playing the pull shot, he too had a plan against the spinners. He did not step out often but transferred his weight on the back foot early and was seen playing the late cut.

On the eve of the game, Ross Taylor emphasised on executing shots against the spinners. The late cut and sweep could make a difference on the turning tracks, he said.

Latham, Taylor and even Williamson played the cut to perfection and made sure they troubled the spinners. “If you spend time at the crease, you will get the runs (here in India). I think it is more about guys applying their game plan and getting used to the conditions. Certainly we got what we needed here,” said Latham. BRIEF SCORES New Zealenders 324/7

dec (T Latham 55, K William-son 50; B Sandhu 2-21) Mumbai 29/1 (Trent Boult 1-5)