NZ and their quiet optimism about Pune slow turner on the eve of the second Test match against India tomorrow.
NZ has downplayed the rumours that the Pune pitch will feature a sluggish, dry, black-soil surface. The visitors’ spinners may benefit if the conditions turns out to be particularly harsh and the ball goes square from the first day.
“I guess whatever we’re presented with, it’s about, for us, trying to adapt as quick as we can; that’s something that we can’t control with the wicket,” Latham said. “So it’s about trying to go out there and adapt as quick as we can, and if it’s going to be a wicket that turns a little bit more, then we’ve obviously got four spinners in our line-up, so fingers crossed that will play into their hands, but yeah, as I said, it’s about trying to adapt on the run, and try not to go into the game with too many preconceived ideas.”
Rachin Ravindra, an all-rounder and one of New Zealand’s spin options, concurred with his captain. In 2017, Pune’s sharp turner backfired on India, as left-arm fingerspinner Steve O’Keefe spun Australia to victory in three days. O’Keefe claimed 12 wickets, more than Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin combined.
“If it’s an extreme wicket, it almost brings us into the game more,” Ravindra said. “If you win the toss, all of a sudden you take a couple of wickets and you’re right into the game on a wicket that’s pretty spicy and turns a lot. As a team, it’s about accepting what’s in front of us. We can’t change that. We can’t control what wicket they’re going to roll out.
“But we can control our attitude, how we approach it, and each and every position we get into with the bat or consistency with the ball. We’re excited for the challenge, whatever it may be.”
Despite selecting three spinners for the first Test match in Bengaluru, NZ didn’t use any of them to bat in the opening innings due to seaming conditions. But in Pune, their workload can be far greater during both innings. If the situation calls for it, New Zealand is also willing to choose an additional spinner rather than a seamer. They have further possibilities in Mitchell Santner (left-arm fingerspinner) and Ish Sodhi (wristspinner), but offspin-bowling all-rounder Michael Bracewell has returned home for the birth of his second child.
“Yeah, I obviously had a little bit of a think around what that [the playing XI] may look like, but we’ll make those final decisions after I speak to you guys, Latham said. “So yeah, as I said, it’s just about trying to make sure we adapt as best we can, and try to get a little bit of information from previous games here, and also the practice wickets that we’re on will hopefully be something around, or similar to what we’re getting, so I think that’s the beauty of our team, is trying not to go into the game with too many preconceived ideas, and trying to make sure we adapt as best we can.”