Chennai, Feb 8 (PTI) New Zealand pacer Lockie Ferguson said variations are “non-negotiable” for bowlers on Indian pitches after pegging back Afghanistan top-order with two quick wickets during their T20 World Cup match here on Sunday.
Ferguson dismissed hard-hitting openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran in the sixth over to curb Afghanistan’s intentions to have a flier early on.
“I think in India it’s hard to know sometimes what a par score is. The years I’ve been coming they’ve been getting better and better. Yeah it’s non-negotiable to have variations. Every international bowler has those variations,” Ferguson told the media in the post-match press conference.
New Zealand beat Afghanistan by five wickets to start their campaign on a winning
note, and Ferguson was happy to see his bowling unit mastering the Chepauk pitch.
“Some variations suit the bowling staff, for me back of the hand works well, for Matt Henry and Duffy, off cutters are really nice. It’s such an important part of the game, particularly in this part of the world where the wickets are so good.
“You need to change the ball in the air or off the surface so I think it’s something we work very hard on. Picking and choosing the times to use them is sometimes a challenge and, obviously, with the way I bowl, it’s important to keep running in and bowling quick. So, that change-ups when it does happen becomes more of a surprise,” Ferguson elaborated.
However, Ferguson was delighted that his side bagged two important points in a tight Group D.
“I think we’ve got a really tough pool. We had a heartbreak last World Cup against a strong Afghanistan side. It was a close win but getting the two points is so important early in the tournament, much like it is for every team,” he added.
We couldn’t build pressure: Trott ======================= Afghanistan head coach Jonathan Trott said his side failed to maintain the pressure after spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman took two early wickets to reduce the Kiwis to 14 for two.
“When Mujeeb got those two wickets in the first over, they then got 40 in the next four overs or 38 in the next four overs, so they still finished the power play relatively strong.
“If we had perhaps reduced that a little bit and then come out the power play, there would have been a bit more pressure on them. We weren’t able to build that pressure at both sides,” said Trott.
Trott also hoped that the Afghan top-order batters would use the power play segment more effectively in the coming matches.
“I think it depends on the surface as well, sometimes you have your targets, and sometimes it might be a little bit more than that. I think it’s important to be flexible but I think yeah the power play is certainly going to be important.
“But the one thing I would say and you’ve seen now, the power that players and in batters have at the end of the innings – we saw there in New Zealand it was difficult to stop them,” he said. PTI UNG UNG AH AH
