The showdown between Indian spinners and Kane Williamson will be intense on a gripping DICS (Dubai International Cricket Stadium) pitch, but beyond the personal realm, it also has the potential to decide the outcome of the Champions Trophy final in Dubai on Sunday. New Zealand is eager to end their 25-year-long wait for an ICC 50-over title after bagging the ICC Knockouts Trophy in Kenya, beating India by four wickets in 2000.
On the other hand, India are gunning for their second Champions Trophy since 2013 and they could be fielding four spinners and two pacers for the ICC showpiece final in Dubai on Sunday. The title clash could be played on the same surface that was used in the match against Pakistan, where spinners had found some assistance.
In that context, Williamson’s impeccable adaptability skills and technical nous is vital for New Zealand, and he had produced a masterclass while making an 81 in the final group match against India in Dubai a few days ago.
New Zealand coach Gary Stead thought that India will pursue the four-spinner strategy in the final as well, which he termed “challenging”.
“It's probably what we expect for them to play against us, but we have four spinners as well within our squad and we think we're pretty well balanced. But it's always a challenge. They are very, very good spinners, all of them in their own right.
"So, for us, it’s just being clear on our plans and working out if there could be a match-up that we are deciding within our team that it's the right one for us to go after. So who knows, they (Indian spinners) might have an off-day as well and that could be in our advantage,” said Stead.
But Stead also knows that rather than waiting for an off-day from the well-stocked Indian spin unit, taking them head on is a better option. “We have to adapt to what's going on within the match, but all our batsmen will have their individual plans around how they want to combat them.”
It is true particularly against Varun Chakravarthy who has a bottomless bag of tricks — wrong’uns, leg-breaks, scrambled seam deliveries, and seam-up ones which are faster.
In fact, he clean bowled Mitchell Santner with a 113 kmph seam-up delivery to end New Zealand’s resistance in the league match here a few days back. “Sometimes a little bit of bravery to take, I mean, those options are on, so we're certainly up for that, up for that challenge and that's what India will bring. We know that they've got four very capable spinners,” he added.
So, Stead will certainly pencil in Williamson big time in his plans to counter Indian slow bowlers as the 34-year-old has a remarkable career record against spinners in ODIs — 2952 runs at an average of 47 with a strike rate of 86.
“He's a guy that rises for the big occasion and he's done it many times for New Zealand in the past. Look, cricket's a game runs aren't guaranteed, but I know that Kane will be doing everything he can to prepare to score well and he's one of those unique individuals around the world that has that ability to adapt to different pitches. “He seems to be able to do that faster than many other players, so fingers crossed from our perspective that Kane has a big day,” said Stead.
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