The cricket connoisseur in Blackcaps captain Kane Williamson is particularly pleased by the "old school test cricket" his side played to pull off a thrilling draw in their opening match against India.
The Blackcaps' last batting pair of debutant Rachin Ravindra and No.11 Ajaz Patel saw out the final 52 deliveries in fading light to secure a thrilling draw at Kanpur's Green Park Stadium.
"For us, it was sort of some old school test cricket trying to bat out a day and survive, which isn't seen all that often in recent years," Williamson says, after the see-saw contest.
"It was good fun and nice to come away with the draw in the end."
Chasing 284 on a final-day track to go 1-0 up in the two-test series, New Zealand managed to keep the morning session wicketless.
Tom Latham topscored with 52 runs and nightwatchman Will Somerville made 36, but the obdurate partnership for the final wicket between Ravindra and Patel saved the match for the touring side.
While the umpires kept checking the light-metre, India continued with spin from both ends and deployed seven fielders around the bat, ramping up pressure on the last New Zealand pair.
"I think India were 20-something overs ahead of their over rate, which is unheard of," Williamson notes. "They were getting through their overs very quickly.
"We knew that it was going to be a real scrap throughout the day, as scoring was tough. It was a really good fighting effort to bat out the day against an amazing spin-bowling attack."
Williamson terms Ravindra, 22, as an "all-round package" and said the experience would stand him in good stead.
"An amazing experience to have in his first test match and to be there at the end is something he'll remember for a long time," Williamson says.
While seamers Tim Southee and Kyle Jamieson were the stand-out bowlers for the Blackcaps, the spinning trio of Patel, Will Sommerville, and Ravindra struggled to make headway, prompting questions over their selection ahead of quick Neil Wagner.
"I mean you are always trying to adjust to conditions," Williamson said. "The spinners that we have have been outstanding for us in a number of games and these sort of conditions.
"I think they will be much better for the hit out there. They have both come out of Auckland where they have been locked in their houses for a few weeks. So it has been a bit of a rush to get some overs under their belt.
"Having said that, they did make valuable contributions with the bat and the ball. The way the two seamers as well operated was simply outstanding and really gave us a fighting chance in this match.
"Tim and Kyle's efforts kept us in the game and gave us a fighting chance to change the momentum. There was not a lot of pace to play with.
"Tim was able to change his angles and was certainly immaculate with his lengths and created opportunities for us, which is really special. Certainly at his best, and it was really great to see."
After their disjointed preparation, Williamson believes the experience will stand them in good stead for the second test, which starts in Mumbai on Friday.
"For us, having that experience, going out, batsmen spending time in the middle and bowlers getting overs under their belt after a fairly disjointed preparation was really valuable," he says.
"For us it is really important that we make adjustments quickly again. We go to a new venue, and it will be different."
Reuters/Newshub.
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