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Captains focus on playing aggressively

S. Ram Mahesh

Dhoni and Vettori feel wind would influence matters over the course of the Test

— PHOTO: AFP

TOUGH COOKIE: Daniel Vettori rates Iain O’Brien, seen practising at the Basin Reserve on the eve of the third Test, as one who loves the challenge of bowling into the wind.

WELLINGTON: Although India and New Zealand are differently situated in the series, captains M.S. Dhoni and Daniel Vettori stressed the importance of playing attacking cricket over the duration of the third and final Test here at the Basin Reserve.

“It’s important to win the game,” said Dhoni, whose side has a 1-0 lead. “What you have done in the Test series so far doesn’t have much importance. Once you have the mindset of going for a draw, you are not aggressive enough to win a Test match.”

Ready to gamble

Vettori said the incentive to even the series meant New Zealand would gamble. “We have to go out with that mentality,” he said.

“It’s not a line of thinking I pursue often, but we realise a 1-1 series would be a great result for us, so any opportunity that we have to win the Test match I think we have to take. If that means putting ourselves under pressure with a loss, yeah well definitely go down that road.”

The primary point of interest pertains to New Zealand’s bowling: does it have the penetration to dismiss India twice? “That’s the real test for us,” admitted Vettori.

Challenge

“We stepped up and proved that we can bat for a period of time against their bowlers, now it’s a reverse of that, where our bowlers have to take wickets. We did that in the first innings in Napier on a very flat wicket. But it also depends on the situation. If India has the ability to battle it out on a flat wicket then it’s difficult to get them out, but if there’s a game on the line, it could be a good challenge for both sides.”

Vettori added that while patience and consistency were needed when bowling, New Zealand would have to find ways of hustling India’s batsmen into errors. “I was pretty pleased with the majority of the bowlers through those three days in the field in Napier,” he said.

“There’ll probably be a few times during the Test match when we’ll have to push a little bit harder and take some chances.”

Dhoni, who admitted he was surprised not to see a grassy pitch, said the wind would, over the course of the game, influence matters. “There is no pavilion (sic) here, it’s quite an open ground. The wind blows across the field, so definitely there will be swing for the fast bowlers,” he said. And the same breeze can be used by the spinners to drift the ball.

Vettori too spoke of the need to harness the wind, adding that specific roles were assigned to bowl into it. “There’s probably going to be one or two days when the wind picks up,” he said. “But if you do well in those conditions you know you’ve worked pretty hard for it.”

“Iain O’Brien is a guy who loves that challenge, bowling into the wind no matter how hard it is. There are some opportunities for players to step up. I’ve seen in Tests before at the Basin generally the teams that have done the tough days well have gone on to win the Test.”

Light factor

The sides might struggle to fit in 90 overs on the final three days of the Test, for daylight saving ends on Sunday. With the clock being reset (back an hour) and with slow overrates ensuring play regularly went on until 6.30 p.m. during the first two Tests, there’s every chance bad light will interfere.

But Vettori didn’t think it would be an issue.

“It’s probably going to be difficult but there’s still going to be plenty of time to get a result,” he said.

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