CHENNAI: Guess the identity of the spinner who has troubled India the most number of times in ICC events in the recent past? A clue. They will face him under Dubai's imposing Ring of Fire on Sunday.
Yep, it's the familiar frame of Mitchell Santner, the former Daniel Vettori close who has become quite the thorn in several of Indian sides across formats. A few months ago, Santner picked up 13 wickets at Pune to bowl the visitors to a famous Test win.
At Manchester in 2019, he bowled a near-flawless 10 over spell through the middle overs (2/32, 40 dots) and played his part in helping the Kiwis beat India in the semis of the 50-over World Cup. Three years before that at the T20 World Cup in Nagpur in 2016, the left-arm fingerspinner, on a bunsen, picked up 4/11 across four arresting overs.
Santner may not be a big turner of the ball but what he has going for him is the way he cajoles the ball, sees the crease as a friend and keeps playing with angles all the time. Because he always keeps the stumps in play and seldom errs in line and length, dots are a key part of his armoury even if he may not be among the leading wicket-takers.
With the ball gripping in Dubai's tired surfaces, he will know exactly what to do. Plus, Indian batters have struggled against left-arm spinners in recent times (a bowling type they are yet to seriously face in this edition of the Champions Trophy).
The Black Caps have in their arsenal something Bangladesh and Pakistan didn't have. They are more than capable of tying two ends up with spinners through the middle overs. If Santner can keep one end quiet, Michael Bracewell can also do quite a bit. No, don't laugh. If anything, Bracewell is the wicket-taking option in this line-up. At an ER of 3.2 while averaging 12.8 for his five wickets across two matches in the batting-friendly strips in Pakistan, Bracewell will be raring to go in Dubai.
"The wickets here have looked like they've taken a bit of a spin," he said in the press conference on Friday. "So, it'll be good to try and get used to the wickets as quickly as we can. We've obviously enjoyed the pitches in Pakistan."
"And I think we've got a pretty well-balanced side to play in any condition. So hopefully, we can continue to do that and adjust to what's in front of us. I think that's been the strength of our side, adjusting to the surface. So, hopefully, we continue to do that as a side."
Apart from Bracewell and Santner, they also have Glenn Phillips and, if need be, Rachin Ravindra, another left-arm spinner. Between the four of them, there's quantity but also quality.
Adding a layer of intrigue is that the Indian batters have generally reserved the big shots against the pacers while being content with singles and strike rotation against the slower bowlers in the first two games. Mehidy Hasan Miraz (0/37), Rishad Hossain (2/38) and Abrar Ahmed (1/28) have all been economical. The Indian batters have been able to play in the manner because of Rohit Sharma's pyrotechnics at the top coupled with Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli's game sense. Against a well-rounded Kiwi outfit — the height of Will O'Rourke could be a threat — one wonders if they can afford to play the same way.
With the Kiwis shaping up to bowl at least 25 overs of spin, the winner of that particular battle will likely win the contest.
