We lost wickets in clumps, says Watling

September 25, 2016 01:12 am | Updated November 09, 2021 02:03 am IST - KANPUR:

Can New Zealand bounce back? Watling noted, "I know we have a great bunch of fighters in this team and we love playing the game.

THE FINAL ONE:  R. Ashwin brings the curtains down on the  New Zealand first innings with a return catch to dismiss  B-J. Watling.

THE FINAL ONE: R. Ashwin brings the curtains down on the New Zealand first innings with a return catch to dismiss B-J. Watling.

B.J.. Watling summed up the day for New Zealand. “Tough,” he said after another intense day of Test cricket at the Green Park here.

“We have to look forward to tomorrow (Sunday) and make sure we make the adjustments that are required. We need to improve, but I know the boys are determined.

“We are trying to learn these conditions and figure out ways to score runs and take wickets. We’d definitely like to do things better tomorrow and I know the boys are determined to do that,” said Watling.

Assessing the pitch, Watling said, “There was definitely a bit more turn, but they have two quality spin bowlers and we lost wickets in clumps.

Need to do better “We talked about that, we know it’s tough to start in these conditions and we’ve definitely got to do that better in our second innings.”

Was R. Ashwin’s ball to get Williamson the best of the day? Watling responded, “Yeah, you could probably say that.

“It was a very good ball that spun from very wide, just a tough ball to play and he obviously asked questions like that throughout the day. We have to find a way to deal with those good deliveries.”

On the same dismissal, Ravindra Jadeja said, “It was obviously a very good ball. As an off-spinner, beating a batsman between bat and pad shows it’s a very good delivery.

“He was their main batsman and could have played for a long time. I think the four wickets we got in the first session were game-changing, because we knew that there are only two or three top-order batsmen in their team who can play a long innings.”

Great fighters Can New Zealand bounce back? Watling noted, “I know we have a great bunch of fighters in this team and we love playing the game.

“We know we are under a bit of pressure now and we’ve just got to find a way to try put the pressure back on them. That is all we can do at the moment. I know our attitude is right, we’ll find out tomorrow.”

On six batsmen getting out leg-before, Watling said, “It’s good bowling. Sometimes the ball spins here, and sometimes it doesn’t. It’s about the lines we play and we’re working on that every day, trying to figure it out.”

What did Jadeja discuss with coach Anil Kumble. “There was some rough outside the left-handers’ off-stump. So he was telling me to bowl from an angle and from a bit wide of the crease.

“He told me to target putting as many balls as possible in that rough because from there, some were turning and some were going straight.

“That would have created doubts in the batsmen’s minds and that’s what we spoke about. We discussed bowling a bit wide of the stumps to the left-handers.”

How was Jadeja bowling well on helpful pitches? “There is no mystery. We didn’t have very well prepared grounds and pitches and those are the kinds I’ve been brought up on, the kinds where there were no groundsmen and we were just practising,” said the left-arm spinner.

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