NAGPUR: Mystery spinners rarely give away their secrets, but New Zealander Glenn Phillips is fast emerging as one of the few batters who appear to have cracked at least part of the code.
In the first T20I against India here on Wednesday, the New Zealand all-rounder stood out not just for his explosive strokeplay, but for the clarity with which he tackled Varun Chakravarthy, a spinner many even struggle to pick.
Phillips smashed a breathtaking 78 off 32 balls in a lost cause while chasing 238, and a interesting sub-plot of that innings was his battle with Varun.
Explaining his approach, Phillips said the key lay in balance, head position and extracting maximum information at the point of release.
"He is very difficult to pick and bowls very good length and at a very high pace. For me personally, just getting into strong positions, getting my head in right place and giving myself best chance to receive as much information from his hand as possible," Phillips said.
The New Zealander underlined that there is no one-size-fits-all solution against Varun, whose effectiveness is closely linked to conditions and the degree of assistance from the surface.
"Everyone plays differently and on pitches that turn more he becomes more difficult. On pitches like today where there isn't as much turn, it could be little bit easier at times but he could be incredibly difficult, very tough to play," he said.
"I guess everybody has to find their own ways to combat him."
Facing the mystery spinner for nine deliveries, Phillips scored 19 runs, including two towering sixes, and played just a single dot ball, rarity against a bowler who thrives on indecision and misreads.
Phillips was also asked whether bowlers with extra pace, such as Lockie Ferguson or Matt Henry, might have been better suited to contain Abhishek Sharma, who gave India a blistering start at the top.
"That's a tough question. I mean he has done it to the toughest fast bowlers in IPL, sometimes a guy is in a form like that you try and hit the best area possibly and hope that they make a mistake," Phillips said.
From a bowler's point of view, he admitted that there is often little control once the ball leaves the hand against a batter in full flow.
"As a bowler, there is nothing much you can do when you release the ball. He hits all around the ground so sometimes you need little bit of luck," he added.
Despite producing what he termed a "little gem of an innings", Phillips conceded that the chase was always going to be a steep climb once India piled up such a massive total.
"When you are chasing 240 (238) everything needs to go your way and way Abhishek gave them start, they got a heads up. I think we batted well till 13th over mark but after that we decided Axar to be the guy we would target but I lost my wicket," he said.
Looking ahead in the series, Phillips felt the opening game would help New Zealand build a clearer understanding of Indian conditions, especially with very different pitches awaiting them.
"Understanding how the pitches are going to play like here. Couple of games we have in Chennai, this was flat and fast and in Chennai, there is an element of spin, it was understanding how conditions will be and the potential of dew factor.
"Understanding differences," Phillips said, noting that the spinner-friendly Chepauk surface will be in stark contrast to the flat Jamtha track here.
