Kiwi hope to get good first-innings score

In the wake of their 197-run defeat in the first match in Kanpur, New Zealand lost the second match in Kolkata by 178-runs with a day to spare and these two defeats have put the focus back on the first innings score. 

New Zealand made 262 and 236 in the first game and 204 and 197 in the second (899 total), in comparison to India’s 318 and 377 in Kanpur and 316 and 263 (1274 total) in Kolkata. 

“The key for us is first innings runs,” Black Caps coach Mike Hesson said. “When you are able to score first innings runs you can create pressure and we struggled to do that.”

“There were a couple of key moments in the (Kolkata) Test match. Losing three [wickets] on the second night was key in terms of struggling to get a first innings score. Then with us fighting back well [on day one] and India being 220-6, that was a key turning point. If you end up chasing 260-270 it is an even game but you chuck another 100 runs on it and it is probably a bit too many.” 

After posting 316 in the first innings, India again exposed a fragile New Zealand batting line-up to claim a decisive 112-run lead going into the second part of the match. 

But, given spinners Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja had terrorised their opposition to claim 16 of the 20 wickets, it came as a surprise that it was the seam bowlers who did most of the damage. 

Utilising an unusually green Eden Gardens track offering variable, bounce, and swing under the lights late on the first day, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (5-48) and Mohammed Shami (3-70) handed their side a platform for victory. 

Despite all the focus placed on the importance of dealing with quality spin bowling in India, Hesson said they hadn’t been caught by surprise by the “significantly different” pitch. 

The fact they selected a third seamer in Matt Henry in place of a third spinner was proof of that, he felt. What had been harder to deal with was energy-sapping heat and humidity pushing actual temperatures up past 40 degrees. 

And the only answer to that issue, Hesson said, was time. “The longer you’re here, the better you adjust, it is not something you can do straight away. We had a bit of time in Delhi [before the series] and it was hot but not as hot as Kanpur and certainly not as hot as Kolkata,” he added.