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New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner believes Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli remain formidable opponents despite advancing in age, pointing to their continued run-scoring ability ahead of the upcoming white-ball contests against India. Santner acknowledged that the experienced Indian batters continue to deliver, even as attention increasingly shifts towards the team's explosive younger players.
The New Zealand skipper also highlighted the challenge of containing India's aggressive top order in the five-match T20I series. With Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson capable of attacking from the first over, Santner expects his bowlers to adapt quickly to the conditions and find ways to create pressure.
How has Mitchell Santner performed against India?
Mitchell Santner has considerable experience against India across all three international formats. He has taken 23 wickets in eight Test innings, 17 wickets in 24 ODI innings and 23 wickets in 27 T20I innings.
In Test cricket, the left-arm spinner has conceded 681 runs from 1,223 balls, averaging 29.6 and has an economy rate of 3.34. His best innings figures are 7/53 and he has taken two five-wicket hauls in the format.
Santner has claimed 17 ODI wickets at an average of 56.7 and an economy rate of 4.74. The T20I format has brought him 23 wickets in 27 innings. He has an average of 31.9 and an economy rate of 7.80, with best figures of 4/11.
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Against someone like Abhishek or Ishan, you know they will come hard from ball one: Mitchell Santner
Mitchell Santner expects India's aggressive approach to test New Zealand's plans, particularly during the powerplay. He believes his bowlers must look beyond the boundaries conceded and focus on building pressure through the deliveries between them.
“They pack power all the way through and come out with a lot of aggression. As a bowler, you know there aren’t going to be too many dot balls. You have to plan accordingly, assess the conditions and use them to your advantage,” Santner said, as quoted by TOI.
“Even if you get hit for boundaries, it is about what happens with the balls in between. Those could be wicket-taking deliveries or dot balls. If we can restrict India to around 200 in New Zealand, that might be a good score, considering the power they possess,” he added.
The captain also stressed that conditions would influence New Zealand's strategy. If the ball moves, the hosts will look to exploit it, while flatter pitches could require them to use larger boundaries and vary their plans. Mitchell Santner added that early wickets would be crucial against India's attacking openers.
“If the ball moves, we need to use that to counter their explosive batting. But if the pitch is flat, then we might have to create pressure, by using the bigger boundaries and finding different ways of taking wickets,” he said.
Rohit and Kohli may not be getting any younger: Mitchell Santner
Mitchell Santner also recognized the threat posed by young batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. He expects India's depth in power-hitting to make the challenge demanding for New Zealand.
“I’ve seen what he can do at the IPL. Whether it is Sooryavanshi, Abhishek, Ishan or Sanju, India have power throughout the lineup. It will be a challenge to stop him.”
Reflecting on India's experience and the challenge of playing against them at home, Santner acknowledged the quality of the opposition while emphasizing New Zealand's focus on their own performance. Also, Santner had a clear message about Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, as he stated that their age has not diminished their ability to score runs.
“Rohit and Kohli may not be getting any younger, but they are still churning out the run," he stated.
