India vs New Zealand: We talked about being relentless with the ball, says Matt Henry

BENGALURU: Of the 80 deliveries that New Zealand pacer Matt Henry (5/15) bowled, none could be termed loose deliveries. His pace was complemented by precision and the seam and swing made him unplayable.

The M Chinnaswamy stadium on Thursday was like a paradise for seamers and the trio of Tim Southee, Henry and William O’Rourke (4/22) made the most of the conditions, leaving just two Indian batters — Rishabh Pant (20) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (13) — with double-digit scores.

When Henry dismissed Kuldeep to signal India’s dismissal for 46, it marked his 100th wicket and fourth five-wicket haul in his 26th Test appearance.



Terming the toss “a good one to lose”, the 32-year-old Henry said, “We were going to bat first too. It was quite nice when those clouds started coming in after the toss was done, but I think we were expecting it to be probably a flatter wicket. There was plenty of assistance this morning, so it was great that we could make the most of it.”

His first spell of six overs yielded one wicket, but the ensuing 7.2 fetched Henry four more.

On his team’s plan, Henry pointed out, “We talked about being relentless with the ball and being patient. That was probably something that we looked to do, and thankfully it came off.”



Highlighting “discipline” as one of the key factors on the day, the pacer dwelled on how they put into action lessons learned from India’s domination at home.

“When you come here, you’re watching how the best in the world operate. Usually, discipline is second to none. It may not happen in the first spell or the second spell, but they keep coming back, and the same as India have done for many years. And watching how they go about their work here, they bring the stumps in play, and they’re able to make themselves a threat throughout, whether it’s a flat wicket or not. That was something we discussed,” Henry, who considered his fifer “a special achievement in India”, said.