Wellington, Nov 7 (PTI) Young India pacer Gurnoor Brar relished bowling in New Zealand, saying the extra bounce and pace on offer helped him exploit the conditions with his hard-length deliveries as he played a key role in the visitors’ four-run win over the hosts in a rain-affected second ODI here on Saturday.
Brar with his four-wicket haul was instrumental in bundling out New Zealand for a paltry 134 but the visitors had to work hard before securing a victory through the DLS method to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
“I really enjoyed it. Bowling here in New Zealand, the bounce and the pace really helped me, so I enjoyed it,” said Brar, who has impressed with his pace and ability to extract bounce.
Explaining his approach, the pacer said the extra bounce in New Zealand allowed him to stick to his natural strengths rather than rely on the hard lengths required on relatively flatter Indian pitches.
“Obviously, in India the pitches are quite flat, so we have to bowl that hard length. But here, there’s that extra bounce. So I was just bowling to my strengths, and it worked,” he said.
Brar, who bowls in the 140-142 kmph range, said aggression was important for a fast bowler but knowing one’s limitations was equally crucial.
“If you’re a fast bowler bowling at an average of 140 or 142, you have to be aggressive as well. But you have to know your limits too. I just enjoy it and keep bowling,” he said.
He also explained his use of the bouncer, saying he preferred keeping it around shoulder height rather than bowling it too high.
“I just try to bowl that hard length, the lengths where batters try to pull. I don’t want to bowl it very high; I just keep bowling at shoulder level,” he added.
India captain Shubman Gill admitted that the chase was far from straightforward despite having restricted New Zealand to 134.
“As long as we get the win. It wasn’t easy batting. Getting them out at 134, I thought it’ll be an easy target, but it wasn’t. Happy we got there in the end,” Gill said.
The skipper was also pleased with Brar’s progress, saying the young pacer had the necessary attributes to succeed at the highest level but needed more experience to develop consistency.
“In the last match, Gurnoor bowled really well too. As he gets more experience, he’ll get more consistent. He already has the pace and bounce. Most of the seamers have all the qualities. International cricket is about performing under pressure,” he said.
Gill acknowledged that India had lost more wickets than they would have liked during the chase on a challenging surface.
“The pitch was challenging but we lost two extra wickets than we’d have liked in the end,” he said, referring to the late dismissals of Nitish Kumar Reddy and Anshul Kamboj.
New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner felt his team had fallen short with the bat, despite a spirited bowling effort that kept India under pressure.
“It was a tricky wicket. There’s no hiding it. I think they bowled really well, especially at the top, challenged us, and obviously, wickets at the start are never ideal,” Santner said.
He felt New Zealand could have managed a more competitive total, with even an additional 20-30 runs potentially making a difference.
“Even if there was a potential way of scraping to 160 or 180, we could have gone from there,” he said.
Santner praised his bowlers for repeatedly finding breakthroughs, saying taking early wickets was the only way New Zealand could have challenged India’s modest target.
“The only way to get into that target was to take wickets at the top. We managed to do that, and then I think the guys coming back in, spell after spell, managed to get the breakthroughs throughout, which is key in ODI cricket,” he said.
The New Zealand skipper did not bowl today and he explained that he had initially warmed up but eventually decided against bowling after seeing the seamers make good use of the conditions.
“I think we got up. I think I got pulled, so I just said, ‘Yeah, you guys look like you’re doing all right.’ It was one of those wickets where the seamers looked pretty challenging on,” he said.
New Zealand will look to bounce back when the two teams move to Hamilton for the third ODI on November 10. PTI APS APS AM
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