A brief break for Diwali, and it is back to the 22 yards for the Men in Blue. An ODI series win and a drawn T20 series against Australia give way to a short series with their Trans-Tasman neighbours, New Zealand. Hosts India will look to carry on from where they left off against Australia. Given the reputation of the Virat Kohli-led team since last season, the visiting Kiwis will face a daunting task.
Needless to say, the focus will be on the challenge India's new spin duo— Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal—will pose. Kane Williamson, the Kiwi skipper, who has stressed on “flexibility and adaptability” in different playing conditions, has also acknowledged how spin would be a key factor in the series against India. In the previous series here, it was leg spinner Amit Mishra who did most of the damage, taking 15 wickets. This time, the Kiwis will have to contend with wrist-spinners Yadav and Chahal, who were unleashed with great effect on the Aussies.
Speaking about the duo ahead of the first ODI match to be played at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on October 22, vice-captain Rohit Sharma praised them for combining well and adapting their bowling as per the conditions, especially in the crucial middle overs to restrain the opposition batsmen effectively. “They have definitely grown from last time when they played for India. There has been immense improvement in their confidence. They go out and do their things and are not afraid to change their tactical plans as they bowl in middle overs. Whenever they were given the ball, they got rid of the set batsmen, which was very important.”
Sharma was particularly impressed with their communication and understanding. “They complement each other and share their tactics, which is very good and important. They understand the game—where it is going, when they must restrict and not go for wickets, and try and create pressure. They are very versatile in their bowling.”
Speaking on the challenge posed by the Kiwis, Sharma said that India would look to carry the momentum from the Australia series. The Kiwis, led by their most accomplished batsman Kane Williamson, include quite a few members of their A team which has recently finished playing a series in India. They also have had time to acclimatise themselves to the prevailing conditions. Interestingly, despite a whitewash in the Test series last season, New Zealand were competitive in the ODI series which they lost 3-2.
“We played these guys last year in India around the same time, and their team is also similar to what we played then. As far as strategies and planning are concerned, it won't change much from last time around. Let us see what this New Zealand team is capable of. They had a couple of good practice games here and must have got used to the conditions. It depends on how we start and what we want to do as a team. We would like to continue from where we left off against Australia. There has hardly been any time between the two series and the guys are in their grooves. We hope to put up the same performance as we did in last series against Australia,” said Sharma.
Interestingly, the ODI matches in the recently concluded series were not a run fest as is the norm in ODIs at home. However, Australia had not posed a stiff challenge as they were expected to. They succumbed not just to the spin duo, but also to a fine display of pace bowling by Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah. “If the wicket is helping the bowlers, the batting unit has to be smart. Usually, there are high-scoring games when wickets are flat, but the last few wickets were challenging—slow, bit damp and two-paced.”
Kohli has had a problem of plenty while picking his playing XI in the last series, especially in the top order. Perennial team man and stand-by opener in ODIs Ajinkya Rahane made the most of the chances he got against Australia in the absence of regular opener Shikhar Dhawan. However, Dhawan has now returned. Sharma, who had combined well with Rahane too, is set to open with his regular opening partner Dhawan in the series.
Speaking about the change in partners and whether Rahane would be warming the bench again in the three-ODI series, Sharma said: “ No idea about that. He (Rahane) has grabbed all his opportunities in the last series whenever he has played. It all depends on where the captain and the coach want him to bat. Whatever limited opportunities he has got, he has performed well. We all have to be on our toes. Anyone can come in and perform. It shows the strength of the team.”
Sharma, who would be playing on his home ground on Sunday in the series opener, refused to single out left arm pacer and Williamson's prime bowler Trent Boult as the only threat to Indian batsman. Describing the Kiwi bowling unit as “very competitive”, Sharma said the Indian team has to look at the Kiwi bowling attack in its entirety. The visitors have come packed with as many as six fast bowlers including Tim Southee and Adam Milne.
The two teams will play three ODIs in Mumbai, Pune and Kanpur and three T20Is in Delhi, Rajkot and Thiruvananthapuram.