'Our batters have been challenged': New Zealand coach Luke Ronchi praises India's pacers
toi
newspoint|10-11-2026
India’s young pace quartet of Arshdeep Singh , Auqib Nabi, Anshul Kamboj and Gurnoor Brar has played a decisive role in the visitors taking a 2-0 lead in the five-match ODI series against New Zealand . The four have claimed 17 of the 20 New Zealand wickets to fall across the first two ODIs.
New Zealand batting coach Luke Ronchi admitted India’s seamers had posed tough questions for his side.
“They’ve been really good. They’re asking questions of batters and it’ll be quite cool for them,” Ronchi said at the pre-match news conference in Hamilton on Monday. “They’re going into games where the ball isn’t flying around, the ball is actually assisting them and they’ll be happy with that.”
Ronchi said the most impressive aspect was the way India’s young attack had adjusted from bowling on flatter subcontinental surfaces to finding the right lengths in more helpful conditions. “They are so used to bowling on flat wickets, it’s realising what is the right length, the right line. The ball is swinging a bit and it’s about knowing how to bowl the way they want to bowl to make it hard for the batters,” he said.
“They’ve done that really well. They’ve challenged our batters, taken wickets early and made different impacts in different games. It’s exciting to see younger guys come into the game, perform and push their case to be playing more and more.”
Ronchi said the seam-friendly surfaces in the ODI series would help both teams prepare for the two-Test series starting on Nov 19.
“Technically, yeah, they will, because that’s traditionally what we have here for Test cricket — greener surfaces,” he said. “That Wellington surface was more of a Test-type surface, so it’s grasping hold of that and realising that. It will help both teams.
“At the moment, the bowlers have got the upper hand, so there’s nothing wrong with that. Around the world, especially in India, if teams don’t make 400, you’re in trouble, so it’s just ridiculous. The bowlers have an opportunity to get some conditions, but you still have to bowl well on them. Both teams have been doing that.”
New Zealand batting coach Luke Ronchi admitted India’s seamers had posed tough questions for his side.
“They’ve been really good. They’re asking questions of batters and it’ll be quite cool for them,” Ronchi said at the pre-match news conference in Hamilton on Monday. “They’re going into games where the ball isn’t flying around, the ball is actually assisting them and they’ll be happy with that.”
Ronchi said the most impressive aspect was the way India’s young attack had adjusted from bowling on flatter subcontinental surfaces to finding the right lengths in more helpful conditions. “They are so used to bowling on flat wickets, it’s realising what is the right length, the right line. The ball is swinging a bit and it’s about knowing how to bowl the way they want to bowl to make it hard for the batters,” he said.
“They’ve done that really well. They’ve challenged our batters, taken wickets early and made different impacts in different games. It’s exciting to see younger guys come into the game, perform and push their case to be playing more and more.”
Ronchi said the seam-friendly surfaces in the ODI series would help both teams prepare for the two-Test series starting on Nov 19.
“Technically, yeah, they will, because that’s traditionally what we have here for Test cricket — greener surfaces,” he said. “That Wellington surface was more of a Test-type surface, so it’s grasping hold of that and realising that. It will help both teams.
“At the moment, the bowlers have got the upper hand, so there’s nothing wrong with that. Around the world, especially in India, if teams don’t make 400, you’re in trouble, so it’s just ridiculous. The bowlers have an opportunity to get some conditions, but you still have to bowl well on them. Both teams have been doing that.”
