Bengaluru: India’s no-holds barred batting approach, to an extent, has been diminished by the surfaces rolled out for the limited-overs series against West Indies at home.
With shorter boundaries and flat decks the norm in New Zealand, where India will be playing a full-fledged series from October 22, the contests could come down to a bat versus bat showdown yet again.
New Zealand’s white-ball skipper Mitchell Santner hopes there’s a bit of juice in the pitches for the bowlers when the two sides travel across the country to play five T20Is and five ODIs over three weeks.
“From my point of view, hopefully the surfaces are not too flat, because when the pitches are flat and when the boundaries are short, we know what India can do. Crowds want to see high-scoring games, but a close game with totals around 180 is still a good game of cricket,” Santner said in an interaction arranged by Sony Sports Network.
“There are some grounds in New Zealand that are short and flat. Some grounds, the ball can fly. But there are a few that do a bit in this time of the year. It is about turning up and seeing what’s in front of you and adapting as quickly as possible.
“With preparation, if there’s an opportunity to, it doesn’t have to nip around and spin a lot, even if there’s a little bit of bounce, or it does something a little bit, and where batters have to think twice about just trying to go from ball one. It brings the bowlers back into the game,” he added.
Bad light
To combat the influence of bad weather/light, the International Cricket Council recently approved switching from the traditional red-ball to pink before the start of a Test on a trial basis, subject to both captains agreeing to it.
Santner, who turned down a BBL contract to prioritise Tests, welcomed the idea with an intention of getting in the full quota of 90 overs.
“I think trying to get 90 overs in a day’s play unless you’re gonna play in the peak of summer is a proper challenge, especially when cricket is being played all year round. I feel that if that’s a way of trying to get more overs, I guess it is a good thing,” Santner said.
“The pink-ball still feels a little bit different to a red-ball, kind of feels a bit more like a white-ball. We’ve seen in day-night games when the lights are on, the pink ball does a lot. It also stays harder for a little bit longer than a red ball, so then that changes conditions a little bit, but I think if both captains are keen for it, I don’t see why not.”
Talking about Indian cricket veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s final visit to New Zealand, Santner said: “If you look at what they have done for India over such a long period of time, fans in New Zealand would enjoy a final glimpse, and they also bring bigger crowds. So that’s one way to challenge yourself against the best in front of your own fans.”