India looks to sharpen spin play against NZ

DUBAI: A seemingly invincible India will be eager to sharpen its game against spin and give a run to second-line players ahead of the semifinal when it takes on New Zealand in its last group match of the Champions Trophy here on Sunday.

A win in its last league match will help India top the Group A. But that position of pride is of little value because it will face Australia in the last four, and the two-time champion has handy spin unit at its disposal.

Indian batters have not been really comfortable against spin despite two victories thus far in the event, and New Zealand, which is also qualified for the semifinals, could offer them a tough challenge.

The star Indian batters were focusing more on playing out Bangladesh spinners Mehidy Hasan Miraz (0/37) and Rishad Hossain (2/38) without taking risks, and they followed the same approach against Pakistan leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed (1/28).

But they will come up against more wily customers in Mitchell Santner and Michael Bracewell on Sunday, and it could be their harshest test against spin yet in this event.

Both the Kiwi spinners are in fine fettle here, and could be even more effective on the worn out surface at Dubai.

Indian batters have been clever enough to milk spinners for singles and twos, while reserving the big shots against pacers when the ball came much more quickly and predictably at them.

But they will face 20 overs from Santner and Bracewell while a few more of Glenn Phillips’ part-time off-spin.

India does not have very fond memories of facing Santner and Phillips in a Test series at home late last year, which it lost 0-3, and now it has Bracewell too to tackle.

The off-spinner has been quite parsimonious so far, conceding just 3.2 runs per over across two matches.

So, the effectiveness of Shubman Gill, India’s standout batter in ODIs of late, batting icon Virat Kohli, who made a morale-boosting 100 against Pakistan, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul against them will have a telling impact on the outcome of the game.

And even beyond this match, considering the slowing-down nature of the decks at the DICS.

But there is a pleasing side to spinners’ dominance here.

The selection of five spinners — Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Washington Sundar — was not viewed with any conviction ahead of the marquee event because of the overwhelming success pacers had at this venue in the past.

But what India encountered at Dubai are tired pitches after the venue hosted the ILT20 recently, vindicating the selection call to a large extent.

The three tweakers India employed so far — Jadeja, Axar and Kuldeep — have bowled as per the conditions, making it tough for their opponents.

They have not produced any magical spells but were able to keep the opposition batters in check in the middle overs, as none of them have given in excess of five runs per over in this event.