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Daryl Mitchell happy with tackling spin ahead of T20 World Cup
The seasoned Kiwi batter treasurers the signed shirt Kohli gave him for his great ODI series showing
Mumbai: New Zealand can never be counted out in sub-continent conditions, especially in ICC events. A key architect of their improved showing against spin is the tall right-handed batter from Hamilton, Daryl Mitchell. He took them to the 2021 T20 World Cup final. Mitchell’s hundred in the 2023 ODI World Cup semi-final against India was heroic in defeat.
If his Player-of-the-Series showing (352 runs, 2x100, avg 176) in the recent ODI series win against India had payback vibes, he wouldn’t show. “We recognised it was on us senior guys to stand up. We got stuck in the moment, adapted to conditions really well, and kept trying to find ways to put pressure on them,” Mitchell told HT last week.
The twin hundreds in the ODI series earned appreciation from the format’s foremost batter, Virat Kohli, who presented his signed jersey as a souvenir. “It’ll definitely be framed somewhere in the office for many years to come,” he said. “I’ve got so much respect for Virat for how he plays the game, how he does it, day in, day out for almost two decades now. He’s definitely someone I’ve looked up to for a long time, how he approaches, not only his batting, but the presence that he brings at the crease.”
Attacking the spinners
Mitchell aced Indian spinners and meted out harsh treatment to their ODI trump card Kuldeep Yadav. Part of his strategy was in using the feet and finding the straight boundary, a clear area of strength.
“It’s a combination of both, being able to work out what the game needs are for me at this moment and adapt – whether it means sweeping on certain surfaces or using your feet. It’s just trying to find ways to put pressure back on the opposition. Hopefully it comes off more often than not,” he explained.
New Zealand T20I captain Mitch Santner recently spoke about how Mitchell wasn’t a great player of spin to begin with. “I grew up in New Zealand on pitches with more grass and bounce. So, I’ve had to adapt my game and tinker with things and try different ways of setups,” he said.
“I’ve been very lucky to have a number of influential people that have helped me along. When you get a guy like Kane Williamson at the other end, you learn a lot from him. Our batting coach, Luke Ronchi, you’ve spent a lot of time with as well, just trying to tinker with how to operate in these parts of the world. Also watching the way Tom Latham sweeps, the way Rachin (Ravindra) manipulates fields really well. We all work with each other and help.”
Benefits of the IPL
Some of his best white-ball learnings on playing spin have come during IPL. “You’re always picking guys’ brains and trying to understand how they go about in certain situations, which is different to who you are,” said the 34-year-old. “I didn’t play much at all at Rajasthan Royals, but spent a lot of time with the likes of Siddhartha Lahiri, one of the batting coaches there. At Chennai, you’re rubbing shoulders with the likes of MS (Dhoni) and Rutu (Rituraj Gaikwad). Then you have Mike Hussey as a batting coach as well. You’re always learning from different people.”
For Mitchell, the challenge ahead is to try and make a similar impact in T20 cricket as he does in ODIs. Like he showed in the recent Visakhapatnam T20, he can be destructive. For someone who began as a top order T20I batter, it’s about adapting to his new role of batting down the order. Although New Zealand did not get the results they were after (India won the T20I series 4-1), a five-match series ahead of the World Cup, expected to be played in similar conditions, should help.
“It’s the perfect prep. You don’t get much better than taking on the world’s best in their own conditions. Just the style of how we want to operate with bat and bowl has been a great experience. It sets us up nicely, hitting into what’s coming up.”
The T20I World Cup starts on February 8. The Kiwis are in Group D with Afghanistan, Canada, South Africa and UAE.
One thing’s for certain. Being the son of a former All Blacks coach (John Mitchell), the batter won’t feel any stage fright. “It’s funny. He’s still my old man. We spent a lot of time kicking the rugby ball around and hitting a cricket ball in the backyard. There’ll definitely be some things that have rubbed off into how I operate in my own sporting career. He still told me off when I was naughty. I am very grateful for the legacy experiences of being around international rugby as a kid growing up,” said Mitchell.
