New Zealand wicketkeeper Tim Seifert is in awe of Indian speedster Jasprit Bumrah. However, he reveals the reason why it is tough to play Bumrah. Bumrah’s subtle variations in bowling have been difficult to pick in the ongoing T20 series and New Zealand needs to learn the things to counterattack the visitors.
After winning the first one, India beat New Zealand by seven wickets in the second T20 International in Auckland on Sunday. With this, they took a 2-0 lead in the five-match T20I series. Jasprit Bumrah was the pick of the bowlers who returned with figures of 1-21 from his four overs.
“Even in the first game, Bumrah bowled slower balls that were going wider. Normally, death bowlers get into straighter lines, plus yorkers and mix it with chest height. He kind of changes things a lot and is tougher to play,” Tim Seifert said.
“…the ball was holding a lot more which made it tougher. So sometimes as a batsman, you have to move away from the stumps and see if they bowl straight. I was backing myself to do something different instead of just standing there at the wicket,” added the wicketkeeper, who remained unbeaten on 33 off 26 balls.“It was tricky and the ball was holding a little bit. When Kane (Williamson) got out in the over against Yuzvendra Chahal, we knew it was the over to push because they had Bumrah coming back.”
He further added that they need to learn from Indian players on how to adapt to different conditions so fast.
“…Indian batsmen showed how to get under the ball and time it. They showed it a couple of times that and on the slower wickets, you just have to keep it like that. Once you lose your shape, you are not in position. Try to get them (bowlers) off line or off balance, try to get into that position to hit good balls. That’s T20 cricket as well. Sometimes it’s going 100 per cent but some times you have to take a breath and re-assess. Indian batters did that well,” he further added.
Although it can’t be said that New Zealand didn’t do well. They put up a 200-run mark in the first game whereas put pressure on India in the second game while restricting the visitors. Tim Seifert believes New Zealand bowlers did pretty well in the two games but they have been outplayed by India. Moreover, both the games took place at Eden Park which has a small boundary and known for the run-fest as well.
“To be honest, in the first game they were 110-1 and they had wickets in hand. We didn’t bowl too badly in that first game. In the second game, we only got 130 and it is tough to bowl at Eden Park (with that total). 170 was the target in mind but once you get 130 on the board, that was going to be very hard at Eden Park against a team that is very strong and playing really well. But our spinners were outstanding. Good balls have gone to boundary,” he added.
However, New Zealand have been going through a rough phase. Before this series, they lost to Australia in the longer format of the game. Moreover, many of the players haven’t played the shorter format also. Thereafter, these certainly cost them the defeat.
“Boys are coming off a Test series (in Australia) and a lot of them haven’t played T20 cricket for a while,” he said. “But for some like me, I have had the Super Smash for the last two months, so I have played a lot of T20 cricket. They have two games under their belt now so hopefully they will have a better understanding.”
Although they are still confident of bounce back in the series. The third T20 will take place on Wednesday at Hamilton before back-to-back matches in Wellington and Mt Maunganui. Tim Seifert said they would like to emulate their 2019 tour of India, where New Zealand won the three-match series by 2-1.
“We have lost the first two games but we haven’t played badly. We definitely haven’t played our best though while India has played very well. If we lose the series on Wednesday, it is not the end of the world. But if we can turn things around, and win, we will take things from there,” he expressed.
“We won the series 2-1 last time, so we have to treat it like a three-match series again. But we have to treat it like the first two are must-win games. We are not playing our best at the moment. There are 20-odd games before the World Cup, and that tournament is the pinnacle, so we will get there (in preparation),” he concluded.
