Excited for the New Zealand-India series, beginning January 24, one of the match-ups former Kiwi head coach Mike Hesson is really looking forward to is the one between spearhead Trent Boult and ace opener Rohit Sharma, who are both at the peak of their prowess.
Hesson believes with the duo hoping to set the tone up for their respective teams, this could well be the tour-defining contest.
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"Trent Boult versus Rohit Sharma in ODIs will be a fascinating match-up if there's a little bit of swing on offer," Hesson told Cricbuzz. "The New Zealand middle-order against the wrist spinners - Kuldeep and Chahal - will be the key middle-over match-ups. Hopefully, Trent (who is recuperating from an injury) will be back for the ODI series as he is a key player for NZ in taking new-ball wickets."
Rohit's biggest challenge tackling Boult will be with the new ball during the Test matches. "If it swings, yes," Hesson agrees. "Rohit just has to play close to the body in the first session and not go hard at the ball. If he does that, he will enjoy the batting conditions in New Zealand."
The tour will also give us a few new chapters in the Virat Kohli-Kane Williamson rivalry. "This match-up will be talked about as you are comparing two of the top players in the world currently," Hesson said. "I am more interested in seeing how Virat Kohli deals with New Zealand seamers in his first 10-20 balls. If he can get starts in New Zealand, then his hunger for runs will make him difficult to dislodge."
"Kane Williamson will score runs in NZ against any attack in the world. It's what the other batsman can do to help Kane dominate long periods of the game that will determine the outcome of the series," he added.
India dominated the Black Caps last year before the World Cup in UK. But despite his countrymen also coming for this series on the back of a disastrous tour to Australia, Hesson reckons things will be pretty even.
"New Zealand are very hard to beat at home, as you can see by their recent record," he said. "I, however, see India having a far more suitable seam bowling attack than they had back in 2014 (the last time the two played Tests in NZ), which means this will be a very even and competitive series."
(Inputs from Cricbuzz)
