Through patience and tactful strike rotation, Tom Latham and Kane Williamson ensured New Zealand built a solid platform to challenge India’s might on a slow turner
Sidharth Monga in Kanpur23-Sep-2016On a day India managed to get just one wicket in 47 overs despite having a more threatening attack than New Zealand’s and on a more difficult pitch than the one they batted on, a glaring statistic stood out: R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja bowled just two maidens between them.More importantly, though, the most continuous deliveries that Ashwin got at one batsman was six. Jadeja managed to keep one batsman on strike for longer, but not with telling effect. He had Martin Guptill facing for nine straight deliveries, but was hit for two boundaries. That meant no pressure was built. He then had Kane Williamson on for nine straight deliveries, but this time Williamson managed to avoid pressure with a couple.It was the next string of 12 deliveries that Jadeja bowled in a row at Williamson that resulted in two close calls. This was around the tea interval where India felt New Zealand began to slow the game down. The crux, though, is that in the unbeaten 117-run partnership between Tom Latham and Williamson – their sixth century stand in just 24 innings together – the right-left duo didn’t let the Indian bowlers bowl at them for long periods of time.It was down to India’s in-and-out fields as well as the enterprise of Latham and Williamson. Teams nowadays, especially on turning tracks, prefer to operate with in-and-out fields, knowing the batsmen are not patient enough to keep picking singles. Then there’s the knowledge that modern bats are good enough to send half-hits over the infield. Williamson and Latham, though, showed the patience and skill to keep picking those singles and turning the strike over. Every time they did so, the bowlers had to change their angle and their plans.”That is one of the keys,” New Zealand batting coach Craig McMillan said. “You don’t allow Ashwin or Jadeja to bowl 12 or 15 balls at one person. You have to find a way a way to get down the other end and both those guys did that really nicely today.”Their discipline [stood out], they stuck to their game plans and when the Indian bowlers missed, we jumped all over it. I thought the way they rotated the strike with that left- and right-hand combination throughout the partnership was crucial. They just worked really hard, and showed how hard it is out there. This surface is still playing pretty well, but there is a few balls taking off and turning. All in all the self-discipline from both those guys throughout the partnership was crucial.”With the pitch deteriorating significantly from the opening day, but the turn being slow, there was a likelihood of them getting beaten often but equally there were chances of edges not carrying, especially with Williamson’s soft hands. It will be crucial to not let these extraordinary deliveries affect you as long as they don’t dismiss you.”That’s part of playing in India,” McMillan said. “We are confronted with two very good spinners who know the conditions well and are going to challenge you at different times. Mental [focus] plays a big part, not getting flustered, being comfortable in those conditions and being comfortable with the ball beating the outside edge and not letting that worry you. Both guys soaked that up really nicely throughout that partnership and whenever they got a scoring opportunity they made the most of it.”One of the basics of playing spin well is to pick the length early, something McMillan thought both Latham and Williamson did well. “We’ve done a lot of work in terms of using the feet and getting deep in the crease, they’re all key things to playing spin well,” he said. “You watch the best players of spin around the world and they don’t get caught on the crease. They are either forward or back.”All our guys have done a lot of work on that, and everyone does it differently. Everyone’s technique is different, and it is important you don’t just try and play the same way. You have to use what works for you, and we’ve done that really well. Both players today used the depth of the crease really well. The key to that is picking up the length early. If you do that you can go forward or back.”As India batting coach Sanjay Bangar pointed out, New Zealand were in similar position to that of India before they collapsed: 150-plus for 1. This is a pitch where one can bring many. Also New Zealand might have to bat last on this pitch unless they can show similar skill till they reach 500. McMillan knows there is a lot of hard work to do still, and with the bat that has to be done in the first innings.”There is a lot of cricket to be played,” McMillan said. “It is the end of day two, and we are only halfway to what India scored in their first innings. We still have a lot of cricket and batting to do before we even start looking at what will happen on day four and five.”
