India vs New Zealand 2016: 5 things the Kiwis must do to win the Test series

The visiting Kiwis have made all the right noises in India so far. Captain Kane Williamson, coach Mike Hesson, off-spinner Mark Craig and experienced batsman Ross Taylor have all had tete-a-tetes with the media after landing in New Delhi, the country’s capital, where they play their only three-day warm-up match on September 16 before the three-Test series commences on September 22.

Apart from coming across as their usual humble and intelligent selves, they have also quite rightly, in a way acknowledged the enormity of the challenge at hand. The challenge of trying to beat global cricketing super power India in their backyard in a Test series. Something they have never achieved before. However, it is certainly not impossible.

The recent year mauling of powerful Test teams like South Africa and Australia notwithstanding, The Kiwis only need to look at the fact that since 1983, that is since India’s rise as a cricketing superpower, all except Sri Lanka and New Zealand among major Test playing nations, have beaten India in India.The English have done it twice, the last one being as recently as the 2012-13 series.

New Zealand will believe they have the squad to do it and that is among a few prerequisites along with belief, before any kind of execution can take shape. In spite of their world number seven ranking in the format (to India’s two) a good solid Test squad is what New Zealand have visiting India, after a considerable length of time actually.

They have all departments covered and the core of the side have been together for a while now. While there is a touch of inexperience, especially in the spin department, there are quite a few players who are not making their first Test tour of India and others who have been playing in the country for a while in the IPL.

So here are five absolute imperatives which they will have to execute on the field, to have a semblance of a chance to upset India’s applecart.

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#5 Target playing 100 overs in the first innings

Guptill’s experience playing in India will be vital

The first batting innings has always been crucial while playing Tests in India. While it holds true for both sides, it is more so for the visitors. Old timers and veteran international cricketers here will tell you that you have to bat big and long in the first innings of a Test match in India, to stand a chance.

The pitch is best to bat on early in the Test, as by the fourth day, Indian pitches can start to behave really funny. The thing about setting a target of 100 overs is that by then bowlers and fielders start to get tired and slow and runs begin to flow, helping the batting team get to a total which hopefully does not make them lose the Test.

So Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Martin Guptill and BJ Watling – put your head down and bat, bat and bat at the very first opportunity. Do not bother about rate of scoring till you have batted a 100 overs.

#4 Look at building batting partnerships

Williamson and Taylor will be key to the New Zealand partnerships

This is not to say that bowling partnerships, especially in the spin department in India are not important, but go back to those series losses that we have spoken about for India at home and you will find at least two standout batting performers in those visiting teams throughout the length of the series who also batted for long periods together.

The last time that India lost a Test series at home, Alistair Cook and Kevin Peterson batted out of their skins in the country with Cook, in particular, batting like a man possessed.

Apart from their captain, who has the best batting stats among both the teams, the Kiwis also have Ross Taylor, who even though has not fulfilled his Test batting promise fully, boasts of an average better than our best and over a longer period of time.

Guptill has played in India a lot, including in Tests and we know BJ Watling has a lot of batting patience and temperament.

#3 Show patience

Jimmy Adams’ patience could be a source of inspiration

This imperative draws from the first two. Here, what will come to the fore, is how focussed the Kiwis are on their 100 overs target if at all they set themselves one. This is a virtue in India, which says do not play your ‘natural game’.

Which is like a catch-phrase which goes around modern day cricketers, thanks to the dominance of shorter formats and a certain Virender Sehwag, I dare say. But there can only be one Virender Sehwag.

Batting in India, you might have to dead-bat the long-hop, the full toss, the short and wide stuff, which will come at you at regular intervals. A certain Jimmy Adams once earned the moniker Padams, for playing everything with his pads on one of West-Indies’ India tours where he was very successful.

Of course, rules have changed and you might get into trouble with modern day umpires if you use the pads too often. But basically, resist temptation. Get bogged down, if that is what the chirping around you is telling you, but do not get bogged down in the mind. Only with the bat for a day or so. Once you cross the 100 overs threshold, play naturally. Easier said than done!

#2 Do not ignore fast bowlers

Faster bowlers such as Boult shouldn’t be ignored

Once cardinal mistake that visiting Test teams often make in India is pack the playing 11 with spinners. Specialist spinners, part-time, reluctant spinners, the works. It will be important to note that apart from Indian fast bowlers like Kapil Dev, Manoj Prabhakar and Javagal Srinath who have all won Tests on their own in India with their bowling.

Foreign fast bowlers like Richard Hadlee, Malcolm Marshall, Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar, Alan Donald, Shaun Pollock, Glenn McGrath and Dale Steyn have all had more than one successful Test performances here in the recent past.

Both conventional swing in the first hour of a Test match and reverse swing in the third session are known to deliver key breakthroughs in India. So resist temptations and stick to the old adage of playing your best wicket-taking bowlers.

#1 Beware of the Indian lower order

Players like Harbhajan have proved that India’s lower order shouldn’t be taken lightly

While playing a Test match in India, remember that the hosts do not have a lower order or even a tail. The number nine or number 10 might have just opened the batting for his provincial side in first-class cricket on a regular basis and has probably more first-class tons than a lot of New Zealand’s top order batsmen.

He knows the conditions like the back of his hand, probably relishes batting here and in home conditions, is probably as effective, if not more, than his top order mate. Remember, India is a batting country and everyone here loves batting.

Many a visiting team has fallen into the trap of becoming complacent after prizing out the Indian top order, only to be thwarted to the extent of being frustrated by the competence of the lower order and the defiance of the tail.

Bowl to them, with the same vigour as you would to a top order batsman. If you are down to nine, 10 and jack…bowl the leg-spinner if you are playing one.