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Tendulkar’s return will be a big boost

I expect a much improved performance, especially from the Indian top order, writes John Wright

The wickets for both the T20 games were drop-in pitches, which were very good batting tracks. However, no matter how good the tracks in this part of the world are, they are still very, very different from those in Asia.

I think India, not for the first time, paid for coming into a series outside home with no match practice.

Now that the T20 games have given them some practice, I expect a much improved performance, especially from the Indian top order batsmen.

They better have a feel for the conditions because the batsmen need to be in good nick at Napier, which has the best wicket in all of New Zealand.

If India bats first, they will need a score of 280-plus, possibly 300, to feel relatively safe. There is no doubt that they have the quality in their batting to achieve that, and the return of Sachin Tendulkar to the side will be a huge boost.

Excitement

All of New Zealand is really excited about watching the Little Master in action, and when I spoke to Gary Kirsten the other day he told me that Sachin had been really practising hard.

He reckoned that he had faced 500 balls in the nets every day, and was really looking forward to getting into the action.

Sachin Tendulkar is the one person I am often asked about in New Zealand, and there will be quite a few in the crowd who would want to see vintage Sachin.

I assume he will be opening tomorrow, and it is crucial for him and Virender Sehwag to get the team off to a good start.

Big pressure

With a really batsman-friendly pitch, and short square boundaries, it puts an incredible pressure on the bowling attack. It would be a big setback for India if they don’t have the services of Ishant Sharma.

Irfan Pathan has been on an off so far, but he will need to get it right. He was off-colour in his first spell in the second T20 game, but when he got it right in his final two overs he almost took the game away from the hosts.

It’s hard to bowl to the New Zealand openers, Jesse Ryder and Brendon McCullum. The latter is a short right-hander who advances down the pitch, while Ryder is most likely going to rock back and hit you over the top.

To make matters worse, Zaheer Khan and Co. have seen very little of these guys and need to adjust their length quickly. The New Zealand top five all have a strike rate of above 100, and this puts a lot of pressure on any bowling side.

Our batting has traditionally been of the accumulating variety, so it’s really heartening for me to see so many potential match-winners in the side.

Work cut out

That said, the New Zealand bowlers too would have their work cut out once the Indian openers get accustomed to the conditions here.

The Indian cricketers’ charisma in general and the last T20 game in particular has really captured the imagination of the New Zealanders. It’s hard to imagine in India how big the Super XIVs, the premier rugby tournament is back here. However, the T20 game and the build-up to the one-dayers has eclipsed even the rugby over the weekend.

A good performance by both teams in Napier will only add to the buzz, and strengthen the popularity of cricket in New Zealand.

Gameplan

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