'I am interested to see how Virat Kohli deals with New Zealand seamers' - Mike Hesson

Former New Zealand cricketer turned coach Mike Hesson, who was in charge of coaching the New Zealand squad from 2012 until 2018, came out and warned the ace Indian batsmen, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma of the threat that the New Zealand pacers would pose in the upcoming bilateral series.

Virat Kohli, the captain of the Indian team is currently the top-ranked batsman One Day and Test cricket, while his deputy is ranked 2^nd in his forte, One Day Internationals, and has a Test ranking of 14^th in the world. Both, Virat and Kohli are proven match-winners and in the build-up to India’s tour of New Zealand, were in blazing hot form.

But, according to Mike Hesson, Indian batsmen would have a big challenge in front of them to get past the first burst of new ball bowling by the New Zealand pacers. It would be interesting to how the Indian batsmen play the first 15-20 deliveries by the Kiwi pacers.

India is set to lock horns with New Zealand in a five-match T20I series

Hesson also cautioned the New Zealand bowlers to get rid of Kohli early in the innings because once he gets his eyes set, removing him is a really difficult task. Adding to this, Hesson also said that the contest between Rohit and Trent Boult is an interesting one to look forward to.

“For me, the match-up I am interested to see is how Virat Kohli deals with New Zealand seamers in his first 10-20 balls. If he can get starts in NZ, then his hunger for runs will make him difficult to dislodge Kane Williamson,” Hesson was quoted as saying in the Times of India.

“Trent Boult versus Rohit Sharma in ODIs will be a fascinating match up with a little bit of swing on offer. New Zealand are very hard to beat at home as you can see by their recent record. I, however, see India having a far more suitable seam bowling attack than they had back in 2014 which means this will be a very even and competitive series,” added Hesson.

Coming fresh and victorious out of the series at home against Australia, the Men in Blue will look to dominate the Kiwis. This is an important series for Kohli and Co., because, later this year, they will be travelling back to the ‘Down Under’, to Australia to play the T20 World Cup. Though the conditions may not be exactly the same, this tour will give them the idea of how the ball would travel in the game and the conditions, they’ll have to play in.

Starting from the 24^th of January, India will be taking on New Zealand for a five-match T20I series. Following this would be a three-match One Day International series, from 5th February. After this, would come the challenge of the purest form of the game. The first Test match of the series will start from the 21^st of February and the second one will be played from the 29^th.

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