New Zealand’s left-arm orthodox spinner Mitchell Santner admitted it wouldn’t be too easy to bowl against India which has availed the quality batsmen at the top while adding the hosts have had grown while facing the stock of slow bowlers.
Santner is supposed to play a vital part for the Kiwis under the dynamic leadership of Kane Williamson, as the limited-overs series will be beginning from October 22 at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
“It is tough, they are a very good players of spin. They have grown up playing spin,” Santner told media gathering and was quoted as saying by PTI.
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As the Black Caps players are in India, the slow-bowling all-rounder revealed he would be aiming to rely on his strength to induce mistakes from the formidable India in their den.
“I just try to keep it pretty simple,” Santner remarked.
Ahead of the Kiwi’s practice match against Board President’s XI after reflecting on Team India, Santner is focusing on his plans while reiterating he is looking forward to creating chances for the visitors with his bowling.
Further, Santner, who has taken the suggestions from the veteran Kiwi slow-bowler Daniel Vettori went on to state that he has a lot more to prove against Men in Blue skipper Virat Kohli, who has been the batting mainstay for India throughout the years.
“Not easy. He’s a very good player, and so is a lot of their team. They’re in good form, the way they played against Australia was very good,” Santner remarked.
Relying on his thorough plans to tackle India, the 25-year-old Santner is further aiming to bowl quicker to trap the hosts’ most-vaunted batting line-up which wouldn’t be that easy.
“Bowl the ball reasonably quick on the surface and make the batsmen commit a mistake,” Santner maintained.
The wily customer Santner wants to create pressure by bowling dot balls to create a grand opportunity of claiming a couple of wickets after having a first-look with the practice fixture.
“If you get a few dots and build pressure that way, you can hopefully get a few wickets. That’s what I’ll be trying to do,” Santner Mentioned.
The two One-day practice matches will be played at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on October 17 and 19, respectively.
It’s pertinent to mention, Santner was the chief architect for New Zealand in the fixture of 2016 World Cup Group in Nagpur when India was skittled out for 79. In the 13th game of the Twenty20 World Cup, last year, Santner dismantled Indian batting line-up with the figures of four for 11, in his quota of four overs.
“I think on that day, we did keep it pretty simple, tried to bowl relatively quick. Didn’t try and give them too much and let them make a mistake,” Santner asserted.
Interestingly, Santner has further watched the footage of left-arm bowler Ravindra Jadeja which includes Axar Patel to tackle the Indian batters. Santner concluded by saying the side is looking forward to acclimatising to the conditions, as the experience in the recent past would come handy for a quick learner of the game.