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India vs New Zealand, 1st Test: How Kane Williamson mastered Indian bowlers

Kane Williamson has added 117 with Tom Latham for the second wicket in the first Test against India so far.

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At the end of the second day's play, Kane Williamson is still going strong on 65 © AFP
At the end of the second day’s play, Kane Williamson is still going strong on 65 © AFP

Trent Boult had jolted India on Day One of the first Test of at Kanpur, but India started the second morning well. Ravindra Jadeja took the fight to the New Zealand camp, dominating the bowlers with some crucial boundaries. He finished on an unbeaten 44-ball 42; 34 of his runs came in boundaries; more importantly, he added 41 for the last wicket with Umesh Yadav, which took India to a fighting 318. Martin Guptill started well, but he lost his balance when trying to flick Umesh, and was trapped leg-before. That brought Kane Williamson to the crease, to join Tom Latham.

Over years Williamson has blossomed into New Zealand’s finest batsman. On his 54th birth anniversary yesterday, the cricket fraternity remembered Martin Crowe as “one of New Zealand’s greatest batsmen”; it was the ultimate tribute they could have paid to Williamson. He had made his Test debut almost six years back. India had scored 487. He had come out to bat at 137 for 4. He had joined Jesse Ryder, perhaps more talented than even Williamson but not as disciplined. It was a study in contrast: Ryder picked out the gaps and hit hard; the youngster used his feet wonderfully against the Indian spinners, ran crucial singles, and paced his innings intelligently. Both men got hundreds.  Williamson has come a long way since then. He is universally hailed as one of the best among the contemporary batsmen. He walks out to toss in the New Zealand blazer. Taking over the mantle from Brendon McCullum was a challenge, but Williamson is off to a good start.

 

New Zealand do not have a good record on Indian soil. In six decades’ worth of Test cricket in India they have managed to win a mere two Tests. Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja had forced South Africa into submission last year. Few gave New Zealand a chance, especially after they lost the toss and Mitchell Santner found turn on Day One. Live updates: India vs New Zealand, 1st Test, Day 2

But they hit back. They hit back with Boult after India had got off to a start. India did not get a big score, but the fans would have thought it was enough. What were these unglamorous men in front of Ashwin and Jadeja?

Jadeja came on in the third over. This will be it, they thought: get this wicket, get Williamson, and it will be over soon. READ: IND vs NZ 2016, 1st Test: Why was Tom Latham ruled ‘not out’?

But Jadeja could not extract turn. He zipped them through, but they played him comfortably. Let the ball get older, Ashwin will rip them apart…

Then Umesh took out Guptill. Williamson arrived. Just this wicket, they thought, and the rest will not be a challenge.

But “this wicket” did not happen. Not only did Williamson survive, he also dominated Ashwin. Jadeja bowled flat, bowled quick, then reduced his pace, then darted them through again. But Williamson mastered both men. READ: IND vs NZ, 1st Test: Inconsistent individuals not serving hosts’ middle-order purpose

Ashwin did not do anything wrong per se. He bowled to an excellent length. There was turn in the pitch, but no zip. He bowled intelligently, varying flight and turning the odd one.

Williamson, however, went one up. He stayed on the back-foot by default. He waited for the ball. If Ashwin pitched on good length, Williamson let them turn. His brilliant footwork and nimble hands allowed him to make the necessary adjustments. The pitch provided turn, but the bounce remained true, so he could handle the turn.

Ashwin, despite the immense variety in his arsenal, does not possess the delivery that would beat quality batsmen for pace. He typically has batsmen groping on front-foot when he pitches on a length. Over years he has beaten their bat or found their edge as they have come closer to the pitch of the ball.

Williamson changed all that today. He devised a new method altogether. He used the depth of the crease to near-perfection, thus extending the length of the pitch by the extra yard or two, which meant he converted the length-deliveries to short-pitched ones. He trusted the bounce and played under the assumption that Ashwin would not manage to send one that hurried on to him. And he whipped them towards mid-wicket for those ones and twos and fours. READ: IND Vs NZ 1st Test, Day 2: Rain plays spoilsport as Kiwis dominate

There were hiccups, of course. Whenever Ashwin tossed one up, Williamson stepped out. The first time he did that he was beaten in flight; he got away, for the ball turned and hit his pad. When Ashwin attempted to pitch up again, it was a full-toss, and Williamson pushed it through mid-wicket for four.

As he settled down, out came the sweeps. Virat Kohli did not have a mid-wicket. Williamson slog-swept Ashwin through the vacant area. READ: Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and ‘uncontrolled aggression’

Jadeja comes off the pitch quicker than Ashwin. Williamson unleashed a delicious cover-drive for four. The next ball zipped through. It took the outside edge. Ajinkya Rahane, India’s most skilled close-in fielder, waited eagerly.

But the ball never reached. Williamson had a split second to loosen his grip, but that was all he needed. It fell short of Rahane.

At this point he started to play Jadeja from the crease as well. It was always dangerous, given Jadeja’s pace, accuracy, and flatter trajectory. When Jadeja got one to zip through off a length, Williamson went deep into his crease. He even had the time to guide the ball past point for a single. Williamson has played more productive strokes in the day, but that late-cut off Jadeja was the supreme display of his skills.

There came another scare. For a moment Williamson perhaps forgot his strategy. Or perhaps his instinct took over. He groped out for a good-length delivery from Ashwin. There was turn. There was bounce. The ball hit his helmet, knocking off a flap that flew on to the stumps — but did not dislodge a bail. READ: India Vs New Zealand, 1st Test: Trent Boult ruins hosts’ 500-Test party

Any time now, thought the fans. Any time.

Umesh bowled short. Williamson pulled with panache — and with power, to the mid-wicket fence.

Jadeja changed strategy. He tossed the ball up. Williamson gave him the Ashwin treatment by playing him on back-foot. The concentration level was phenomenal.

Jadeja did the obvious thing. He pushed one in to deceive Williamson. Unfortunately for Jadeja, Williamson, despite playing on the back-foot, was always ready for the flatter delivery. It was cracked to the cover fence.

Then, before tea, Williamson probably lost concentration. He reached out to Ashwin again. It spun across him. Umesh’s reverse-swing beat his outside edge. He was slow to respond to a carrom ball from Ashwin, but adjusted all the same. And he got back at Umesh, flicking him to the square-leg fence.

There was respite for Williamson at tea, more so when play was called off due to rain later in the day. Or maybe there was respite for India.

(Abhishek Mukherjee is the Chief Editor at CricketCountry and CricLife. He blogs here and can be followed on Twitter here.)

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