T20 World Cup: The Wicket At Sharjah Can Become Tricky, Says NZ Spinner Santner

Sharjah, Nov 4 - New Zealand spinner Mitchell Santner said his team had a look at the pitch of the Sharjah Cricket Stadium and felt that the pitch can be tricky ahead of their Group 2 match against Namibia in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup on Friday. He added that the Blackcaps will not take Namibia lightly.

New Zealand began the tournament with a loss to Pakistan in Sharjah but bounced back with back-to-back wins against India and Scotland in Dubai. Currently at third place in Group 2 standings, New Zealand need to win their match against Namibia followed by the clash against Afghanistan on Sunday to stand a chance of qualifying for the semi-finals.

"We've seen the wicket at Sharjah, which can be tricky, and it brings both teams back into it. So, Namibia have played some good cricket. And so, we've just got to be ready for what the pitch is going to bring us tomorrow. A day game, which is obviously something new again at Sharjah. We've obviously got to be ready tomorrow. In T20 cricket, there's an upset just around the corner. We've got to be ready. We've got to treat it as just another match, not look too far ahead, obviously," said Santner in the pre-match press conference on Thursday.

Santner has been a crucial cog in the wheel for New Zealand, especially when bowling in tandem with leg-spinner Ish Sodhi. While Sodhi has bagged wickets, Santner has been credited for keeping the pressure lid on from the other end, something which he agrees with. "I guess as a spinner, me and Ish, we're two -- I'd say he's probably more the aggressor. My role is to deny runs. It kind of forces the big shot at the other end. And we've seen each get the wickets, he's bowled extremely well. I'm pretty happy floating around the radar and go under run a ball."

"I think the benefit is me and Ish have played together for a long time now. And we've bowled in New Zealand where the wickets can be quite tricky for spinners, small grounds, flat wickets. So really trying to find a good length, changing your pace. So when we go into these kind of tournaments where there's kind of flat you've got to be at your best and I guess we kind of work well together where the roles I guess of me and him are very different on our team depending on the surface."

Santner refused to look much into the net run rate calculations becoming important for New Zealand. "I think the nature of each group being very tight run rate is going to play a part. I guess for us it's just about winning the next two games and where we're through. I think especially at a ground like Sharjah, if you're trying to win or win by a lot, it can be quite challenging. Just with the way the surface is."

"So I think we've just got to look first at just playing our best cricket at Sharjah and beating Namibia and then moving on from there and seeing what Abu Dhabi has for us against Afghanistan. But I guess it's in our control. If we win two games, we're through. So, I don't think we need to look too much into the net run rate."

Also Read: T20 World Cup 2021

IANS