New Zealand fast bowler Matt Henry has revealed his plans to take on India’s in-form opening batsman Abhishek Sharma ahead of the fifth and final T20 match of the series. Henry said New Zealand would look to apply sustained pressure through discipline and accuracy rather than looking for quick successes.
New Zealand registered its first win in the series by defeating India by 50 runs in the fourth T20 match at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday, January 28. Henry dismissed Abhishek for a golden duck, which helped the visitors regain control and reduce the lead to 3-1.
He has been playing brilliantly for the last two years – Matt Henry on Abhishek Sharma
Matt Henry reveals how his team plans to stop Abhishek Sharma, who has been in strong form over the last two years. Henry said that Abhishek is constantly attacking the bowlers and said that New Zealand’s focus will be on creating pressure.
Matt Henry told the media, “He has been playing brilliantly for the last two years and he has been attacking not only in international cricket but in the IPL as well. I think for us it is just about how you are putting him under pressure.”
“It is challenging from a bowling point of view but the important thing is when you have mixed overs how do you bounce back, how do you impact the game and not worry about those things? “I think it all depends on accuracy. You have to be precise in what you’re doing and you’re just trying to do your best,” he said.
It’s never good to be under that kind of pressure – Matt Henry
Matt Henry said New Zealand’s tour of India has been valuable preparation for the upcoming T20 World Cup. He said New Zealand focused on long-term goals, took positive things from the experience and showed strong character while maintaining confidence in the final match.
“For me, T20 cricket is about confidence… when you’re under pressure how do you bounce back and challenge the batsmen? How do you find a way to make it work? But if you keep going, you keep learning and I think that’s probably the highlight of this series for us.
“It’s never good to be under that kind of pressure, but we knew the long-term picture was being built for the World Cup and how can you put teams under pressure when they’re flying like this.
“So, from our perspective it was all a positive takeaway and we’re really happy that guys could still be confident going into that last game. I think that’s a true testament to the character of the group,” Henry said.
It’s obviously a big blow to the body – Matt Henry on leading the New Zealand attack
Henry has assumed a huge responsibility since the retirement of Tim Southee and Trent Boult in the last two years. The fast bowler said he is proud to lead the attack across all formats, but admitted that the workload is demanding, especially with the busy cricket schedule.
“I think it’s obviously a big impact on the body. I think the cricket schedule is also becoming tougher, which poses different challenges.
He explained, “We have some young guys who are getting some new experience here and we also have other guys who have come here. From my perspective, it’s great to have a well-balanced team. In terms of all three of our formats, it’s great to be able to have so much depth.”
He said, “I think how can you get the batsmen to make mistakes when things are probably in their favour? So you are just trying, I think, whether you are playing at the crease, creating variations, changing your pace but as I said it is all about variations.”
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