We are ready to face the Indian challenge, says Kiwi women's skipper Amy Satterthwaite
New Zealand skipper Amy Satterthwaite has stated that though her team will have to be disciplined against a quality Indian side they are ready to face the challenge posed by the Indian women team. The Indian women team’s New Zealand tour will comprise three-match ODI and three-match T20I series.
The last time India women’s team and New Zealand had faced each other in bilaterals, the Kiwis had toured India back in 2015. In that
“We have not played India in a series since 2015. They have a few new faces as well as their experienced campaigners. We know that we will have to be consistent across all three disciplines against a quality Indian side but it is a challenge we are ready for.
“When Indian team plays at home, the conditions suit their spinners but New Zealand wickets do not tend to turn as much. So, it will be a different challenge,” Satterthwaite told ANI.
The most recently both the teams had met was in the 2018 T20I World Cup, where Harmanpreet Kaur’s century led India to a crushing 34-run victory. But Amy has been of the opinion that the conditions in New Zealand would not be conducive to the Indian players, particularly the Indian spinners and hence it will not be easy for the visitors.
“Whenever you are playing a series, you want to win regardless of who the opponent is and the history. This series is no different and especially playing at home, we would love to play well in front of our home crowds. We will have a few days of preparation as a team before our first game on the 24th, which will be a great opportunity to finalise our plans before we take on India,” she said.
Players from both the teams have taken part in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL), and Amy felt that her players would already have their plans ready for the Indian players like Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur.
“I am sure those (New Zealand players) that have played WBBL will have plans from playing against them (Smriti and Harmanpreet) that we will be able to discuss and look to implement,” she said.
The series will start with the first ODI on January 24 at Napier, with the next two games at Mount Maunganui on January 29 and Hamilton on February 1.