India v/s New Zealand 2nd Test: Pacers dominant as Kiwis blown away in windy Eden

India have the luxury of batting deep with Mohammed Shami coming at No. 11 and sharing 35 invaluable runs for the last wicket with his Bengal teammate Wriddhiman Saha. In doing so, India held the psychological advantage of 300-plus at the Eden Gardens pitch that did all sorts of things for the bowlers. The wicket here had good bounce, low bounce, swing and seam, particularly for the medium-pacers and In such conditions, India's 316 could even be match-winning. Saha, who was undefeated on 54, played an important role in taking India to this total, sharing useful stands of 41 with Ravindra Jadeja for the eighth wicket before being joined by Shami.

Asked what the secret was behind the partnerships with the tailenders, Saha said: "There is no secret. The understanding we have amongst us is very good and we are able to rotate the strike well. We were also able to convert the loose balls into boundaries. In our team, almost everyone plays their shots, so whether you get singles or boundaries, we end up having good partnerships."

It is no secret that batting in partnerships is the hallmark of a victorious team. "What we had discussed in the team meeting was to concentrate on building partnerships in the morning. We focussed on blocks of 10-15 runs and thought that the more it can get carried forward, the better for us. We initially thought of getting to 270-280 and if all was going well, then aim for 300-plus. That is what happened. There was a 40-odd run partnership with Jadeja and 30-odd with Shami and that helped us cross 310.
"Our plan is always that regular batsmen will score runs. But after that, if the lower order and tailenders can contribute, the 50-60 runs it is very helpful for the team. We aim at stretching it as much as possible and take the team towards a better score."

On a tricky pitch, Saha negated the New Zealand bowlers by going for the shots, unafraid to go over the infield. He played some delectable shots, particularly on the off-side including a six off Mitchell Santner, stepping out and lofting him over long-off. "The wicket was seaming a bit, so in those conditions if you don't play your shots and get boundaries, we might have reached only 260 at the maximum. So our effort was to convert loose balls into boundaries, so that we can get 280-plus and that went well for us," he said.

QUOTE
Our plan is always that regular batsmen will score runs. But after that, if the lower order and tailenders can contribute, the 50-60 runs it is very helpful for the team
--Wriddhiman Saha