New Zealand batsmen's ploys frustrate India

Remember the 2005 Ashes and Ricky Ponting's fury over Gary Pratt subbing for the pacers? Sure you do. Ponting was livid about England's pacers taking too many breaks to recover and that fresher legs were adding an advantage for England. Something similar could be brewing in this series which is just two days old. Visiting batsmen often take more breaks than scheduled in the subcontinent simply because the conditions are sapping. But can that be used as a tactic to throw the opposition off?

Maybe.

Ravindra Jadeja is notorious for being one of quickest bowlers to complete an over. That brings with it the advantage of not allowing the batsmen to settle, between balls as well as overs. One way of countering that ploy could be to simply take some time out, walk towards square, tap the pitch etc. Whatever was done, pleased Craig McMillan, New Zealand's batting coach, no end.

"Well he (Jadeja) has one of the shortest run-ups in world cricket so it is never going to take long for him to get through his overs," said McMillan on Friday (September 23). "As a batsman it is important you are not rushed and you take your time so you are ready to face in your own time. That can be difficult when someone has such a short run-up, but I thought the guys did that well.

"I thought the guys were fine but it is something to keep an eye on because sometimes those guys with shorter run-ups can be bowling the ball before you've even looked up," he said when asked about the plan to tackle Jadeja.

One of these plans could have also been to take unscheduled drinks breaks. Kanpur's humidity was clearly draining. Kane Williamson and Tom Latham had men coming out with drinks between overs frequently and noticably just before the session breaks. When asked if that could have been a ploy by the visitors to take some time out, Sanjay Bangar, India's batting coach said, "Not to read too much into it, but there are certain areas wherein every individual looks to score and advantage over the opposition. Even we do that at some point of time. That is something we need to be aware of, but ultimately it is the spirit of the game that needs to be kept in tact."

When asked how it can be countered, Bangar left it to the officials in charge. "That is something the umpires have been aware of. It is something the on-field umpires and the match referee are aware of. Obviously, they will make sure that certain corrective measures will be taken in the days to come."

New Zealand faced only 47 overs so far and clearly not too much can be read into these breaks already. But it is something that was noticed by the Indian team management, and even aggrieved them a bit. The coming days will tell us how this pans out but there is more to the theme of tackling spinners than just these 'comfort breaks'.

In 31 overs between R Ashwin and Jadeja, there were only two maiden overs bowled. Ashwin's lone one came in his sixth over, while Jadeja had to wait 16 overs before getting one in. Latham and Williamson had been experts in manoeuvring the strike, the execution of which delighted McMillan.

"Their discipline," he replied when asked about the keys to their success. "They stuck to their game plans and when the Indian bowlers missed we jumped all over it. I thought the way the rotated the strike with that left and right-hand combination throughout the partnership was crucial."

There have been phases of play in the past too, when opposition batsmen stitched together these useful stands but the moment the pitch started behaving odd, the spinners, the close-in fielders and the crowd's volume went up several notches. It's quite clearly the most difficult thing to handle. For Williamson and Latham, it came when they had already crossed their fifties. Their partnership was already worth 92 at that moment. A delivery from Ashwin kicked up from a full length and hit an outstretched Williamson's helmet. A part of it touched the stumps gently as well but didn't disturb them.

Latham had a stroke of luck when a catch at short leg was ruled not out because it had hit the fielder's protective gear (helmet). Apart from that, there were repeated appeals for LBW that were turned down but none of them seemed to faze either batsman. They even began scoring at a slightly quicker rate in this period than previously, although that seemed to be missed in the din of appeals.

"That's part of playing in India," said McMillan when asked about the appeals, the noise and the accompanying pressure. "We are confronted by 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. That is one of the keys, 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," he said.

Resorting to the sweep shot is not an ingenious tactic, but the execution of which is not the easiest - especially on weary pitches. However, both Williamson and Latham got a lot of runs through the shot on the second day. "Visiting batsmen are usually more comfortable with the sweep. The subcontinent players like to use their feet, they are more comfortable doing that. We have found out that our batsmen stepped out about 32-35 times to negotiate the spin. Opposition batsmen played the sweep about 25 times, and stepped out only once or twice. These are two different approaches. Every batsman has his own way that he is comfortable with. It is up to their strength," said Bangar.

A thought that was echoed by McMillan as well. "It's a very individual thing but the use of your feet and the sweep are really important to be successful in India. If the Indians do it, great that's their style. Some of our guys do and Kane and Tom were quite comfortable playing the sweep today and some other guys in our side are not as comfortable. When you are facing quality spinners it is an important shot to have," 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," McMillan summed it up about preparing to play spin.

It is early days, but if the second day told us anything, then it was that the New Zealand batsmen aren't going to be caught in a spin web so easily, and through that they've slowly but surely put the Indians under pressure.