WTC final: Deep Dasgupta has a piece of advice for the Indian batters to counter New Zealand attack

While many experts and critics have picked their playing XI or talked about the favorites between India and New Zealand for the final of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC), former India player Deep Dasgupta has taken a rather different route and has given a detailed plan to India’s batters to tackle the seam and swing conditions and also New Zealand’s pace bowling attack.

India’s struggles when facing the swinging ball are well documented and the team also struggled to come to terms with it during their sole series loss in WTC cycle against New Zealand in 2020. Many fear that the possibility of it repeating again will be higher considering the England conditions, which generally assist fast bowlers.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, the cricketer-turned-commentator advised how to approach these conditions when the marquee clash begins on June 18.

“The first thing Indian batsmen need to keep in mind is their clarity of thought. People advise you to play your natural game, and I completely agree with that. Your natural game provides a basic structure to your game. Rohit Sharma’s most productive shot is his cut or pull off the back foot. That doesn’t mean you need to hit every ball if attacking is your natural game,” Dasgupta explained.

Deep Dasgupta gives Rohit Sharma’s example ahead of the WTC final clash

The former India wicketkeeper-batter also discussed on how Rohit Sharma approaches his batting even before the ball is bowled. Generally, Sharma is known to play pulls and cuts pretty efficiently but prefers staying away from the drives early in his innings. Dasgupta feels clarity of thought process is essential while tackling bowlers in seam and swing-friendly conditions.

“Rohit Sharma has consciously tried to stay away from driving the ball. He depends on the pull and cut shots. If you get a short-pitched ball, you have to go for it because you have to score runs at the end of the day. But if you aren’t getting the ball in your slot, you have to be very clear in your thought process and game plan that you will not play a shot. If a drive is not part of your game plan, unless it is a half volley or full toss, stick with it. That clarity of thought is very important,” Deep Dasgupta continued.

Apart from the gameplan, Dasgupta further mentioned defense and respecting the conditions as his three major points for the Indian batters to tackle the England conditions.