India tour of New Zealand: Allrounder Michael Bracewell expects high-scoring ODI series

New Zealand allrounder Michael Bracewell would like a better balance between bat and ball but believes batters have made such rapid strides in their skills that bowlers are struggling to keep pace in white-ball cricket.

New Zealand have just completed a high-scoring five-match T20I series against India, in which they set a record for the highest innings total in the country, scoring 259/7 in the fourth match. India chased down 225 in the first T20I for their highest successful run chase in the format, then overhauled New Zealand's 198 in just 13.2 overs in the third match.

Similar trend can be seen in ODIs. Sri Lanka chased down 430 against England in their tri-series in Pakistan last month and India scored 406 in 43.3 overs while chasing against West Indies in September.


Bracewell expects more of the same when New Zealand and India meet in a five-match ODI series starting on Wednesday.

"Both teams have exciting batting lineups," Bracewell said during an interaction arranged by Sony Sports Network.

"The one-dayers start a little bit earlier in the day, so maybe there won't be as much dew right from the start. But we're expecting a pretty high-scoring affair."

Bracewell said the improving skill levels of batters were making it difficult for bowlers to contain scoring, even when pitches offered some assistance.

"The skill sets of the batters is improving so dramatically that even when the pitches are only offering a little bit of assistance, batters are able to put bowlers under immense amounts of pressure and we're seeing some really high scores," he said.

"I've always been a believer that there should be a good balance between bat and ball.

The New Zealand allrounder said bowlers would continue to adapt and find ways to apply the brakes, but stressed the importance of taking early wickets.

"It does add an interesting dynamic where you really have to try and be an aggressive bowling unit, particularly in the first 10 overs to take wickets," he said.

"It has proven difficult to take wickets through the middle at times if there's not much on offer from a bowling point of view."

The challenge is particularly acute for spinners in New Zealand, where conditions often provide little turn.

"There is not often a lot of turn here in New Zealand, so you have to try and rely on beating people in the air, which is sometimes more difficult," Bracewell said.

He added that spinners often had to focus on controlling the run rate rather than taking wickets.

“It's [about] understanding what the expectation is as a spinner in New Zealand. And often that's trying to maintain the run rate rather than being really aggressive and looking to take wickets,” he said.

"Having a clear understanding of what's actually expected of you as a bowler is important.”

New Zealand will look to carry the confidence gained from winning the last two T20Is into the ODI series, although Bracewell said the change in format would require adjustments.

"We can take a lot of positives from the way that we played that T20 series," he said.

"Getting used to the conditions here is really important in New Zealand. I think we're really narrowing down how we want to play our cricket and the team that sort of adjusts to the one-day tempo again is going to do really well."

Bracewell said New Zealand had a relatively settled core of players moving from the T20 series into the ODIs, while India had made more changes between formats.

The series will also bring Bracewell up against Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who are on what could be their final tour of New Zealand.

Bracewell, who played alongside Kohli at Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), said facing the pair would be a major challenge.

"The consistency that they've shown over such a long period of time is very admirable," he said.

"Anytime you get to take on those guys and test yourself as a bowler, in particular against the best players in the world, it's an exciting opportunity."