The upcoming Test tour of India poses a formidable challenge for New Zealand’s batters, particularly in deciphering the intricacies of the turning ball and the occasional skidding delivery, according to former Black Caps opener Martin Guptill.
India and New Zealand, the finalists of the inaugural World Test Championship, will engage in a three-Test series from October 16 in Bengaluru, Pune, and Mumbai. Guptill emphasizes the difficulty of scoring runs in India due to the unpredictable nature of the ball’s trajectory.
“You feel like you can never score sometimes,” Guptill said. “The ball’s turning square, then the same sort of ball comes through and it skids on straight. You never know which one’s going to turn and which one’s going to go straight, so you have to always be thinking, you have to always be mentally on song and on (the top of) your game.”
Guptill stresses the importance of seizing any advantage against India, who have won their last 17 home series. “To try and get on top of India is extremely difficult. But when you feel like you are, you have to try and take that as long as possible in the game,” he said.
Given their current form, Guptill finds it challenging to identify the greater threat between Ravichandran Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah. “Both of them,” he said. “You can’t take away (the fact) that (Ravindra) Jadeja scored 86, 89 or something, wasn’t it? (They had a) 199 run partnership, you think you’ve got India against the ropes and then you’ve got these two come out and bat.”
Jadeja and Ashwin rescued India in the opening Test against Bangladesh in Chennai, forming a 199-run partnership for the seventh wicket. “While Jadeja is probably the better batter, I mean, Ashwin goes about his work in a completely different way and is very effective in the way he scores his runs,” Guptill said.
Guptill also highlights the potential of young Kiwi pacer Will O’Rourke, whose extra pace troubled Sri Lanka’s batters in the Galle Test. “He’s got a little bit of extra pace behind him, which some of our bowlers don’t have and he’s got a bit of height, which gives him that little bit of extra bounce,” Guptill said.
While acknowledging the need for change in New Zealand’s Test side, Guptill reserves judgment on whether the younger generation can fill the void left by the likes of Kane Williamson. “I can’t comment on that at the moment. I mean, you don’t know until these new guys come through and start playing whether they’re up to it or not,” he said.
