Pune is preparing to roll out a bald, low-bounce black-soil pitch to negate New Zealand’s seamers, who had set up their first Test win in India in 36 years in Bengaluru, but the visitors aren’t too fussed about it, according to Daryl Mitchell. After New Zealand finished their first practice session by noon on Tuesday, the groundstaff cut some amount of grass off the pitch and it might be shaved bare on the eve of the second Test.
“One thing we can’t do is we can’t change the surface,” Mitchell said two days out of the Pune Test. “So for us, it’s reacting to what’s coming at us and adapting on the fly. We as Kiwis, that’s what we pride ourselves on, we get stuck into the moment, we stay where our feet are and we be as present as possible. We can’t change the wicket. What will be, will be. But I’m sure we’ll come up with a plan and find a way to take 20 wickets and hopefully score a few runs as well.”
While Mitchell is often proactive against spin – he is adept at stepping out and also sweeping and reverse-sweeping – he has been searching for some form. Since scoring a century against Sri Lanka at his home ground in Christchurch in March last year, Mitchell has managed only 406 runs in nine innings at an average of 27.06, which is almost 20 points below his overall average of 46.08 in Test cricket. Mitchell, however, isn’t reading too much into it.
“Look, that’s the nature of the game that we play, especially Test cricket,” he said. “You know, you have little patches where you score a lot of runs and you have patches where I guess you get starts and you want to keep trying to convert. So, look, for me, I just love playing for New Zealand. It means a hell of a lot to pull on that baggy and play Test cricket. And I know that if I keep doing my job for the team, then personal milestones and things like that will take care of themselves.”
With Kane Williamson unavailable for the second Test too, as he continues to recover from a groin strain, Will Young is set to keep his place at No.3. He forged an unbroken 75-run partnership with Rachin Ravindra in the fourth innings to settle New Zealand’s small chase of 107 after Jasprit Bumrah had taken out both Tom Latham and Devon Conway in another sensational burst. Mitchell’s Canterbury team-mate Will O’Rourke, who was playing his first Test in India, also made a serious impression by coming away with a match haul of seven wickets, including the first-innings scalp of Virat Kohli. Mitchell hailed their smooth transition from domestic to international cricket.
“Youngie and Rachin have been around our group for a long time even though they haven’t played a lot of cricket,” Mitchell said. “They’ve been able to see how the culture works and how we want to go about playing as Black Caps. And they’ve fitted seamlessly into their roles.
“Will O’ Rourke, he’s a young talent. He’s from my domestic team back home, so I’ve had to face him plenty of times in the nets and it’s not much fun. So look, he’s a great talent and I’m sure he’ll continue to do amazing thing for New Zealand in the future.”
While O’Rourke’s 6’4″ frame – and high release point – has provided New Zealand’s attack a new cutting edge, he is also capable of locating a fuller length and moving the ball both ways at speeds north of 140kph. Mitchell, who has followed O’Rourke’s progress from close quarters, gave his take on why O’Rourke is an awkward bowler to face.
“He’s a big unit first of all,” Mitchell said. “He’s tall, he bowls from a height but he also can get the balls to go both ways which is always a challenge especially in Christchurch at Hagley [Oval]. There’s a bit of bounce in those wickets, so as you can imagine it can be quite tough at times. “But yeah look, he’s first of all a great man as well. He doesn’t say a lot but when he does it’s pretty funny and yeah, he’s good to have around.”
