Kiwi opener Devon Conway is thrilled to have learned and incorporated new shots, such as the sweep and reverse sweep, during the team's current tour of the sub-continent. The tour is particularly significant as the ODI World Cup is set to take place in India later this year.
New Zealand are having a bittersweet tour of the sub-continent. Having won the ODI series in Pakistan, the Black Caps slumped to a 0-3 loss in the 50-over fixtures in India. Conway scored two Test centuries in the drawn series against Pakistan, followed by a 138 in the third ODI against India as he successfully negotiated spinners of both countries.
"I'm certainly pretty happy with how things have gone, personally, over the last month-and-a-half," Conway said at the post-match press conference. There's been a lot of learnings for me, how to attack spin in the subcontinent. I've had to learn how to sweep, reverse sweep and put bowlers under pressure as much as possible."
The 31-year-old opener has emerged as a force to reckon with at the top, boasting of an exceptional record across all three formats that includes a double century on Test debut. "I've been very fortunate to have good experience in our group. We had Kane with us in Pakistan, it allowed me to have those conversations with him and Tommy Latham - guys who've played here in these conditions quite often - and see how they go about it."
"For me, I can take a lot of learning moving forward, especially for the World Cup coming up," he added.
The third ODI against India started on a challenging note for the Kiwis as it was raining sixes and fours with Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill sharing a 212-run opening stand. "It was a challenge for our bowlers today, it was a batting surface. The nature in which Rohit and Shubman batted put serious pressure on us. We just tried to hang in there and break the partnership and put pressure on the new batter," he said.
New Zealand were without the services of several senior players including the pace duo of Trent Boult and Tim Southee. "The absence of Boult and Southee is massive for us, they are very experienced bowlers but on the flip side, it has given the opportunity for the younger bowlers to come through and learn on the go," said Conway.
India and New Zealand will now face each other in a 3-match T20I series, starting January 27, Friday.
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(Inputs PTI)
