New Zealand coach Gary Stead on Tuesday said that he was totally surprised by India’s performance with the bat in the first Test but he is expecting a strong return from them in Christchurch. India were bundled out for 165 and 191 in the two innings of the opening Test and New Zealand registered a convincing 10-wicket win in just over three days.
“It was a bit of a surprise but it was also due to the pressure we put on those guys for long periods of time. You get Trent and Tim to operate in our conditions and both were outstanding,“ Stead told reporters on Tuesday.
“Trent’s freshness after being out for eight weeks added spark.”
However, the head coach has also given a warning for the Indian team, citing touring New Zealand will be as tough as playing in some of the other countries as well. Moreover, he said that the dismissal of Ajinkya Rahane was crucial on the fourth morning.
“We want teams to believe that it is as tough in New Zealand as it is playing anywhere else in the world. That’s a pride thing. Guess picked up wickets at critical times in the match. We got Rahane out and it was the catalyst of the belief,” he said.
However, India captain Virat Kohli had urged his batsmen to come out with a positive mentality, and Stead also felt that a top-class side like India would like to dominate in the next Test as well.
“I expect Indian batsmen trying to dominate more and that will be a challenge for our bowlers because a world class side like India will come back hard.”
On the other hand, Neil Wagner has returned to the second Test after not playing the first one and there is a possibility that the Kiwis will include four specialist pace bowlers in the squad the Hagley Oval Test.
“That’s always good selection dilemma to have as Neil Wagner is coming back. Kyle Jamieson made most of his debut in the outstanding manner that he played. Neil will be back (in the eleven) with us without a doubt,” Stead said.
While he was asked if left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel will be dropped, Gary Stead didn’t disclose anything clearly.
“We will always consider that (four seamers plus Colin de Grandhomme) as an option after looking at the wicket. I don’t want to make assumptions but yes, wicket at Hagley (Christchurch) has a wee bit in it also. We have seen that guys like Colin de Grandhomme can be very, very useful on this sort of a track. Whoever gets a chance needs to put up a performance like the first game because India will get better,” Stead said.
He was even asked about the 60 points of the ICC World Test Championship if that will put them in a good position in the World Test Championship table, Stead said they didn’t want to look that far as of now.
“Looking too far ahead would be dangerous for us. The next Test is only thing we can focus now. After this we play the next Test series in August. It is an away series in Bangladesh and completely different,” he concluded.
