Luke Ronchi, the New Zealand batting coach, is extremely satisfied with the pace battery of India, which has been constantly posing tough questions for the home side batters in the first two ODI matches in which they have been dismissed for scores of 185 and 134.
This combination of four bowlers—Arshdeep Singh, Auqib Nabi, Anshul Kamboj, and Gurnoor Brar—has taken as many as 17 of the total 20 Black Caps wickets.
"Yeah, they've been really good. They're asking questions of batters, and it'll be quite cool for them. They're going into games where the ball isn't flying around; the ball is actually assisting them, and then they'll be happy with that," Ronchi told reporters ahead of the third ODI in Hamilton.
However, Ronchi has been much more impressed with the idea that because of bowling on flatter surfaces in subcontinent countries, the new attack has been able to find the proper length on appropriate surfaces, which sometimes is difficult to do.
"They are so used to bowling on flat wickets, it's realizing what the right length is, what the right line is, the ball is swinging a bit (and), and how do we bowl the way we want to bowl to make it hard for the batters? They've done that really well, and they've challenged our batters and taken wickets early and made different impacts in different games, so it's exciting to see when you see younger guys come into the game and perform and try and push their case to be playing more and more and more," Ronchi said.
Ronchi confirmed that the wickets used thus far in the ODI series against India will be an advantage for both sides when it comes to the two-Test series commencing on November 19.
"Technically, yeah, they will (prepare better) because that's traditionally what we have here for Test cricket; it's a lot greener surfaces. In reality, that Wellington surface was more of a Test type of surface, so it's grasping hold of that and realizing that, and it will help both teams.
At the moment, it's quite cool; the bowlers have actually got the upper hand, so there's nothing wrong with that. Traditionally, you go around the world, especially in India; if teams don't make 400, you're in trouble, so it's just ridiculous. The bowlers have an opportunity to get some (helpful) conditions, but you still have to bowl well on it. Both teams have been doing that; that's a cool thing to see,” Ronchi stated.
According to Ronchi, at some point, it becomes essential for batsmen to switch gears and not bother about run rates while facing difficult times on pitches that suit fast bowlers. In both the ODI matches, Indian bowlers were taking early advantage of the bounce and turning off the pitch.
“I think both teams have realized that the surfaces probably aren't your traditional one-day wickets; the scoring was higher in the T20s, which is it, but these have just been a bit more challenging, and it's understanding what a par score might be and what each person does to try and help the team in that space.
The other night, if either team had made 200 batting first, that would have been a massive score, so it's realizing that, okay, for 10 overs you might be going at two or three runs an over, but you're actually still going okay.
It's just trying to stay calm and realize the adaptability of what you need to do in those moments, but they're always continuing conversations because again, tomorrow it might be an amazing wicket, and then again, we go to Mount Maunganui; it's a different wicket again,” Ronchi said.
India and New Zealand will clash in the third ODI on November 10 in Hamilton.
(PTI inputs)
