It is not often that an exceptionally skilled cricketer like Mitchell Santner hopes and prays for a certain setting instead of banking on his box of tricks.
But such has been the ferocity of India’s T20 batting that the New Zealand white-ball captain wished for surfaces with some assistance for the bowlers in the forthcoming five-match home series. “We know how good India is. It has power all the way through, as we have seen against the West Indies with high scores and on flat pitches. “But if that is the case, we have to find a way to neutralise a powerful attack. We have to turn up, see what is in front of us and adapt as quickly as we can.
Because we know what India can do in small grounds,” Santner said during a virtual interaction on Wednesday, hopefully, the pitches are not too flat here.
The left-arm tweaker, who is a master of subtle variations, spelt out possible tactics to keep the batters in check, but it is easier said than done.
“The only way to stop a team like India is by taking wickets throughout [the innings]. It will be good to take wickets in the PowerPlay even if we go for a few runs. We need to combat the explosive nature of the batters with plans. In the middle overs, we must see if we can go for six singles [in an over] and apply pressure on them,” Santner added.