Kishan and Dube: India’s counter to New Zealand’s spin threat

WChapeau makes young sjaelland a rattling unsafe side is how they adapt to different surfaces. They are used to pace-friendly pitches at home, but even on typical subcontinent tracks, India have been on the receiving end on many occasions in recent times.First, the Kiwis had a clean sweep against India in the Test series in late 2024, and then beat them in the recent ODI series. The debacle in the ODIs was followed by a five-match T20I series, seen as the build-up for this T20 World Cup. Naturally, the Indian team management was nervous. Another hammering at the hands of the Mitchell Santner-led side would have been disastrous for the confidence of the home side.Left-arm spinner Santner has been a big threat to India for a long time. In India’s opening match of the 2016 World Cup at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur, he picked 4/11 to bowl India out for 79 and hand New Zealand a 47-run win. From the current team, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah were part of the playing XI.To the delight of the home fans, the T20 team hammered the daylights out of New Zealand, winning four of the five matches by comprehensive margins. The feature of the domination was how the Indian batters took down the threat of the Kiwi spinners in that 4-1 victory. As a result of their batters’ super show, India will go into the World Cup final holding a psychological edge over Santner and Co.Also Read: Against Zimbabwe, Surya’s India face moment of reckoningAbhishek Sharma had set the tone with a 35-ball 84, and the introduction of Ishan Kishan gave India a further boost in that bilateral series. In four matches, the left-handed Sharma went on to amass 215 runs, averaging 53.75, at a strike rate of 231.18.The highlight of India’s performance was Kishan’s batting in the final T20I at Thiruvananthapuram’s Greenfield International Stadium. After losing three games in a row, the wily Santner had bowled superbly in the fourth T20I at Visakhapatnam to pull one back with a three-wicket (3/26) man-of-the-match performance.The confidence gained by the Kiwis, however, was neutralised in stunning fashion by Kishan. The diminutive batter hammered a blazing 43-ball 103 with 10 sixes at a strike rate of 239.53. Santner had forgettable figures of 4-0-60-1 at an economy rate of 15, finishing as the most expensive bowler in the game.Kishan was only supposed to be a backup player at the start of the series. The hundred is where Kishan got back into the team.Santner is a very smart operator who has every trick in the book. In this kind of form, the NZ captain figured out that Kishan is unstoppable. He is getting to the spinners by getting into position early and taking his foot to the pitch of the ball.It is no secret that the top-order batter favours the leg side more. In that game, Santner used all the tricks, even floating the ball wide of Kishan’s hitting arc. But the batter stepped out, going across the crease, and hammered the spinner against the turn through the leg side. When a batter does that, it becomes impossible for the bowler.In Sunday’s final, Santner will have to show he has recovered from that demoralising blow. Rachin Ravindra, who has taken 11 wickets bowling his left-arm spin, and off-spinner Cole McConchie too could be in the firing line.At the World Cup, Kishan has lived up to expectations with 263 runs in eight innings at a strike rate of 189.21. His best was 77 off 40 balls versus Pakistan. He warmed up nicely for the final with an 18-ball 39 in the semi-final against England, setting the tone for the game with a partnership of 97 off 45 balls.India have another solid weapon against spin in Shivam Dube. The impact the well-built left-handed batter can have was also seen in the semi-final against England at the Wankhede Stadium. India promoted Dube to No. 4 ahead of the regular middle-order batters to deal with the England spinners, especially leggie Adil Rashid. Dube carried out his role well, hammering 43 (25b, 1x4, 4x6).While Samson and Kishan were wreaking mayhem during the first 10 overs, the seasoned spinner Rashid had held his own with a spell of 2-0-13-1. In his second over, the leg-spinner got the big breakthrough, forcing Kishan to miscue.However, when Rashid came on to bowl his third over, the 12th of the innings, Dube took him down for 15 runs with two sixes. India were 145/2 after 12 overs, with Rashid’s figures reading 3-0-28-1.While NZ will be expected to attack the struggling Abhishek Sharma with off-spinners early, the Kiwis will have to be wary of being thrown off their plans by India’s two attacking left-handers.