India vs New Zealand 2017: Kane Williamson Talks About The Biggest Challenge For His Team In India

New Zealand will have their task cut out when they take on high-flying India in the upcoming three-match One-Day International series.

New Zealand had given India a run for their money when they toured the country last year before losing the series. Kane Williamson & Co. proved no match for India in the Test series but won two ODIs before losing the final game to concede the five-match series 3-2.

However, winning against Virat Kohli & Co. this time around will be a herculean task for the visitors who have a mixed record in the ODIs this year. They began the year series win over Bangladesh and Australia before losing against South Africa at home. It was followed by a win in the tri-series, involving Bangladesh and Ireland before the Kane Williamson-led side exited the Champions Trophy at the group stage.

On the other hand, Team India has not lost an ODI series this year, having won 17 of the 23 ODIs. The Men in Blue also made it to the final of the Champions Trophy.

Moreover, India’s in-form spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav will be a big roadblock in the Black Caps’ way and their captain Kane Williamson is well aware of the threat posed by the duo.

“Both (Kuldeep and Chahal) are very talented bowlers. Their exposure in the IPL has been huge for them and pushed their case to play for India. They both have been very successful. We know it will be a tough challenge, but the guys are looking forward to,” the New Zealand skipper told a leading national daily.

“There are not too many Chinaman bowlers going around and those coming in have all been fairly successful. It’s a challenge that the guys are looking forward to.Obviously their (Kuldeep and Chahal’s) skill sets are very good, but it’s important how we adapt to the surfaces,” he added.

When New Zealand visited India last year, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja had made life tough for them in the Test series. However, the duo has not been considered for limited-overs assignments in recent times and Williamson does not see anything wrong with it.

“There are so many quality players within the Indian squad and they have been playing so much cricket lately that it’s only natural that certain players are rested at certain times,” said Williamson about the exclusion of Ashwin and Jadeja.

“At times, throughout the summer, when we had busy schedules we did the same thing. It’s impossible for everyone to play all formats all the time because the schedule is so dense. It’s the nature of it, but you always know that the team India put out will be very strong,” he added.