Speaking to well known cricket website, former New Zealand great Martin Crowe urged his homeland administrators to go ‘for the kill’. Crowe asked for green tops that would send Indian batsmen in a fizzy.
Speaking to a well known cricket website, former New Zealand great Martin Crowe urged his homeland administrators to go ‘for the kill’. Crowe asked for green tops that would send Indian batsmen in a fizzy.
He was quoted, “The pitches should be green and hold moisture. This environment has been missing recently. Hadlee and Co, from the glorious past, didn’t bowl on featherbeds; they gained assistance off the seam as well as through the air. With respect to an Indian attack that is ageing a little with Zaheer back in, local groundsmen should be watering freely, just as the ones in India remove life from their pitches.”
So the big question is- Can Kiwis really upset India if the green pitches welcome them? Or can Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Neil Wagner (or Adam Milne) create harakiri in the Indian batting line-up? The answer my friends is simply – NO!
Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma, who are currently at the top and batted out of their skins in England in the Champions Trophy last year, will be really up for the test thrown at them. Also, with the likes of Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni, Ajinkya Rahane and Ravichandran Ashwin (if selected) playing down the order, there seems to be case to panic even if the score read – 65-6 in 20 overs.
The New Zealand team after winning in South Africa, are yet to face a quality side and the Indian ODI team can take whatever that has been thrown at them. Also, World Cup venues might help the young side.
So, if Mr. Crowe has demanded for a green pitch, sure go on, we will have a rank turner in India (when New Zealand come visiting).
