New Zealand fast bowler Hamish Bennett, who last played an international in 2017, is eyeing to once again give his medicine to a white-ball monster Virat Kohli, as he is gearing up to make his T20 International debut for the Black Caps in Auckland on Friday (January 24).
The 32-year-old has played only Test and 16 One Day Internationals since making a debut in 2010 along with Kane Williamson, but he has been one of the most consistent T20 bowlers in New Zealand over the past couple of seasons with 26 wickets in 20 games at an economy rate of 8.06.
Following his extremely well white-ball show for Wellington, Bennett was given the opportunity to revive his international cricket, as he earned a maiden call-up to the national T20 squad for the upcoming five-match T20I series against India starting Friday.
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Bennett hopes to have another crack at Kohli at Eden Park once again having served the perfect recipe to get rid of India's batting mainstay way back in the 2014 ODI series here.
In the third ODI, Bennett, a hit-the-deck pacer, bowled 14 dots and a single in 15 deliveries against India’s No. 3 batsman before executing the Kiwis perfect a plan to stop him from taking the game away from them as the hosts managed to tie that match.
In his three overs against Kohli, Bennett nailed the hard lengths and was continue to pepper his outside edge, leaving no gap on the off-side to play shots for the right-hander, as he conceded just 1 off 16 balls at a strike rate of 6.25 to the Indian batter before he got an outside edge.
Ahead of his T20I debut in Auckland, Bennett recalled Kohli’s wicket: “I remember there was a specific plan given against Kohli. We were also focused on executing it pretty well because he is a great batsman and if we erred, we knew he was good enough to cash in.”
He added, “I was looking to cut down the room and build pressure with a fourth-stump channel. That day was mine. Going into this series, I am sure Kohli will be determined to pay back [laughs].”
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On his all-embracing celebration into the sky after dismissing Kohli, the seamer said, “I will, of course, be competing on the field but have the utmost respect for a player of his stature.”
He continued, “We New Zealand cricketers don't usually take it overboard. The celebration wasn't really directed at Virat. It was more of my own battle to keep playing international cricket. That's two years of hard rehab and the related frustration. Nothing was directed at Virat or the team. It was just my excitement to get back to that level.”
Bennett also insisted that he never lost hope of New Zealand comeback and he is still trying to improve as cricketer while admitting that ODIs and Tests are on his mind but he now just wants to take it series by series after national re-call for the home series.
The bowler further added, “I'd never given up on playing for New Zealand. I don't think anyone does. You just have to keep plugging away. For me, I just enjoy playing cricket. I don't live and die by New Zealand selections, but I'm still trying to be the best cricketer I can be.”
He signed off by saying, “Obviously, ODIs and Tests are on my mind and I would love to get back. However, I will take it series by series. I will look to grab this opportunity in T20Is first. Whatever happens from there happens. To go to a T20 World Cup will be amazing, but let's not get carried away. That's a lot of months away. For now, my focus is on the series.”
(With Firstpost Inputs)
