IND vs NZ: How preparing on dusty pitches helped Daryl Mitchell

RAJKOT: New Zealand allrounder Daryl Mitchell’s latest act of tormenting Indian bowlers began far away from the cameras back home in Lincoln, on dusty wickets prepared to simulate subcontinental surfaces.Those earlymorning sessions came roaring back into the spotlight on Wednesday at Rajkot’s Niranjan Shah Stadium, where the Hamiltonborn Mitchell produced a superb 131 not out (117 balls), sweeping and reverse-sweeping with such ease that India’s spin threat looked strangely muted as New Zealand chased down 285 with 15 balls to spare to force a series decider.

“There’s been plenty, plenty mornings in the marquee down in the South Island in Lincoln on some prepared dusty wickets, to try and find ways to come up with game plans in this part of the world,” Mitchell told reporters.

“That’s the stuff that a lot of people don’t see…the work that you put in, away from the shiny lights and the TV, but it’s always nice when you get the rewards from that.”No middle-order batter in recent times has dominated the Indian bowling attack like Mitchell has. In his last six matches against India, he has three centuries and two fifties, a run that has not just bruised India’s pride but also pushed up his own ODI numbers.

In 53 ODI innings, he has aggregated 2,553 runs at an average of 56.73.Mitchell said the mental shift is as important as the shot-making when a New Zealander walks into the subcontinent.“For us as New Zealanders, we don’t grow up on these surfaces, we grow up on bouncy, grassy wickets and the nature of playing international cricket is you have to find ways to adapt your game,” he said.“I’m comfortable with how I want to go about my batting in these conditions, trying to find ways to put the bowlers under pressure. Whether that’s using feet, sweep (shot), using the crease, there are different ways that you try and find ways to put pressure on them (opposition). For me, it’s been a learning process over several years now,” he said.