Martin Guptill is happy with his efforts with the willow on a slow Napier pitch after his century helped New Zealand to open their home One Day International campaign on winning note against Bangladesh.
On Wednesday (13th February), the Black Caps registered a thumping 8 wickets win over the Tigers in the series opener of the three-match ODI series thanks to Guptill’s fighting 116-ball 117 in Napier.
While admitting that the Kiwis had to work hard on Napier pitch, Guptill is glad that the hosts could find a way past the atypical slowness in the McLean Park pitch and cross the line with a huge margin.
Guptill told media after Napier ODI, “Today wasn't a wicket where you could hit through the line of the ball. It was slow and we had to work hard on it. We were able to get through the first ten overs without losing a wicket, and then push on for a big partnership, that set up the game.”
He continued, “It has been a funny old summer. We haven't really had the flat wickets with good carry and bounce like in the previous years. So, some of them have been quite hard work and you had to find a way to get through.”
Meanwhile, New Zealand added 103 runs for the first wicket in Napier -for the first time they stitched a century opening stand since December 2017, but Guptill admitted that Bangladesh bowled really well here. He further added on the same, “Bangladesh bowled really well in the first ten overs. They didn't give a lot of bad balls away. We had to work hard for our runs. The way Henry and I rotated the strike, I thought, it helped the partnership develop.”
Guptill signed off by saying, “Hitting through the line of the ball isn't much of an option sometimes ... So, if you can try to just rotate the strike and work with the guy at the other end and build a partnership. You can go a long way to set up a large total or chase a big total down.”
(With Cricbuzz Inputs)
