Intermittent breaks disturb rhythm of our bowlers: Bangar
India's batting coach Sanjay Bangar has said that the several water breaks taken by New Zealand batsmen disturbed the rhythm of his bowlers while insisting that one breakthrough will put the hosts on top in the first cricket Test here.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson (65 batting) and Tom Latham (56 batting), who frustrated India with their unbeaten 117-run stand, took several water breaks apart from the stipulated drinks intervals. And, Bangar said that the intermittent breaks did disturb the tempo of spinners.
"Ideally we would have loved to have the number of overs we lost on Friday. It (the ball) started to turn a bit, bowlers were getting into good rhythm. The break of rain and intermittent breaks, in between, definitely hampered the rhythm of our bowlers. That is something we need to be aware of it and if somebody has come out with a ploy like that we have to negotiate that," Bangar said after second day's play. Asked specifically if he felt the Kiwis deliberately tried to slow down left-arm spinner Jadeja, who likes to rush his overs, Bangar, however, said, "Not to read much into it. There are certain areas wherein every individual looks to get an advantage over the opposition and even we do that at some point of time. Ultimately it's the spirit of the game that needs to be kept intact."
Bangar said it was a difficult pitch to score and one New Zealand wicket can turn the tide in India's favour.
"For new batsmen, it will be a struggle. In second session we bowled well. Spinners and pacers kept the batsmen under pressure. It's a matter of wicket. We have to be patient. We will have to wait for that one breakthrough. There were a few close calls in second session. It's a matter of putting pressure back on them," he said.
"Every touring team comes out with a plan. They applied themselves well. If you go back into the game, we were in a similar position. We were 150 odd for one at one point of time, so when the ball starts to get older and batsman are a bit tired, you get a breakthrough. Then it can be a totally different ball game. Williamson batted the same way, Vijay and Pujara batted for us."
Asked if India missed a third spinner, Bangar said it's too early to comment on that.
Talking about different strategies adopted by the batsmen of the two teams to negotiate spin, Bangar said it's up to individuals to decide.
INDIA 1ST INNINGS
318 (all out; 97 overs)
NZ 1ST INNINGS
Guptill lbw Yadav21 Latham batting56 Williamson batting 66 Extras (b-8, nb-1)9 Total (For 1 wicket; 47 overs) 152 Bowling: Shami 8-1-26-0, Yadav 7-2-22-1, Jadeja 17-1-47-0, Ashwin 14-1-44-0, Vijay 1-0-5-0.