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Now for their next trick

After a top-drawer effort in the first test, Black Caps seek improvement in the second

Ian Anderson ian.anderson@stuff.co.nz

As the glow from the meritorious first draw quickly fades, the Black Caps know there are still matters that need improvement come Friday.

Among the praiseworthy performances in Kanpur were also some showings that need to be better for the second test starting in Mumbai on Friday.

Will Somerville did an outstanding job as nightwatcher and batted for almost three hours during the test. But the 37-year-old was primarily selected as a spinner and went wicket-less from 40 overs. He was tough to score from but rarely looked like getting someone out.

Ajaz Patel did a sterling job in denying India’s bowlers the final wicket in the dramatic last overs and while he did take three wickets, his leftarm spin was inconsistent when contrasted with the demands of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel.

New Zealand coach Gary Stead felt those comparisons can be unfair. ‘‘It’s always hard when you look to compare them against their Indian counterparts, because that’s naturally what people go to,’’ Stead said.

‘‘The Indian spinners in their own conditions, they probably bowl 5-10km quicker on average than us and that’s not always an

easy thing to adjust immediately.’’

Stead said India’s spinners aren’t always as effective in New Zealand and was expecting his trio – including debutant allrounder Rachin Ravindra – to learn from Kanpur and adjust for Mumbai.

‘‘Also remember that both Ajaz and Will – that was their first game of cricket since last season, so it’s a tough ask for them coming straight into a test match with the way Covid’s been in Auckland.’’

Left-arm paceman Neil Wagner may get his chance in the second test after missing selection in Kanpur, depending on how the Black Caps’ brains trusts views the pitch.

‘‘There may be changes, we’ll just have to wait and see,’’ Stead said. ‘‘We go from a black clay here to a red clay and I think the characteristics of them could be quite different.’’

Stead said he expected the

Kanpur wicket to be more spinfriendly – ‘‘It just really stayed low more than anything then spat out of the footmarks’’ – and red clay wickets tend to bounce more, with recent first-class games at the venue indicating the seamers could have an impact early.

New Zealand only got 16 runs in four innings from the middle-order pairing of Ross Taylor and Henry Nicholls and far greater input from those two would possibly avoid the

need for a last-wicket stand to secure a draw.

Stead said the team still cherished the draw as ‘‘really special’’ and made specific note of the four points they gained in the first match of their world test championship title defence.

‘‘I can’t emphasise enough how tough that is to do over here, especially when you get the more challenging conditions when you lose the toss.’’

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2021-12-01T08:00:00.0000000Z

2021-12-01T08:00:00.0000000Z

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