New Zealand pacer Matt Henry said the condition suitability of India helped them to develop a great bowling unit with their quartet of spin bowlers keeping his side under constant pressure throughout the match in Dubai for the Champions Trophy.
India, who are already playing all their matches in Dubai, put Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel into the field against the Kiwis here on Sunday, for a convincing victory by 44 runs in their last match in Group A.
“Obviously, having four frontline spinners was really effective in the way they played. I think there was luxury in knowing those conditions…they played to those conditions beautifully. That was probably the challenge for us,” Henry said at the post-match press conference.
“We knew they would play the four spinners. They bowled beautifully, read the situation, and conditions perfectly. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get across the line.”
Chakravarthy unfurled a magnificent show here, ending with a five-wicket haul (5/42), and now sets India through to a semifinal clash with Australia.
“He (Chakravarthy) was brilliant with the ball,” Henry said. “He showcased his skill, turning the ball both ways; pace, he was able to put us under pressure right throughout.”
“He extracted turn and pace; for a huge match-winning performance like that, he was able to consistently build pressure throughout. I think that’s what they did in tandem.”
However, Henry was drunk with pleasure and very impressed that NZ pacers had India on the mat early in the pot. He wants that sort of pitch for the semifinals against his compatriots from South Africa.
At one stage, India had lurched to 30 for 3 before Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel mounted a rescue act.
“The key is definitely going to be adapting. That’s among the conversations we have as a fast-bowling group; it’s reading situations and getting oppositions to take the harder options to score runs and we managed to do that here even in the power-play,” he said.
“If we can keep doing that, we can get wickets. Taking wickets through the innings, especially through the middle, makes a huge difference towards the end.”
