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Updated October 25th, 2021 at 18:59 IST

Martin Guptill reveals what New Zealand need ahead of T20 World Cup opener vs Pakistan

Martin Guptill who was New Zealand's top scorer in the 2016 T20 World Cup has said that it is necessary that the team adapts quicker to conditions

Reported by: Azhar Mohamed
T20 World Cup
Image: AP | Image:self
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New Zealand opening batter Martin Guptill, who was the top scorer for the Kiwis in the 2016 T20 World Cup has said that it is necessary that he and his squad adapts quicker to the conditions as a team and that it will be his role to get the team off to a good start.

"Our [openers'] role is to go out there and get the team off to a good start," he said. "We're trying to do the best we can throughout the tournament and, obviously, trends from Sharjah for our first game haven't been that high-scoring. We have to adapt our game to still be positive, but still, look to score some runs off the powerplay" he said.

Guptill has scored well in the warm-ups at the Tolerance Oval, first a 30 off 20 balls against Australia and then 41 off 20 balls against England and that is a good sign for the batter who hasn't registered good records in the UAE (average of 14). When asked about his record at the UAE, the New Zealander said that it is something of the past and that he is looking forward to going out there and playing his natural game.

"Obviously, I would've liked to have gone better, but that's all in the past now. At the last World Cup in India, I was our top run-scorer, so I can draw on that experience and confidence that I have been able to do it before. I’m looking forward to just going out and doing my thing and making sure that I'm just being as positive as I can be at the top of the order. But once we get there and have a look and see how it's playing, we can play accordingly" Martin Guptill was quoted as saying by Stuff.co.nz

Rotating the strike will be key to success on UAE pitches feels Guptill

The New Zealand cricket team opener also spoke about the pitches and what that batters need to do to achieve maximum success out there "First and foremost, you just have to go out and try to be as positive as possible, and if it's not conducive to hitting big shots, it’s about looking to rotate, looking to get off strike, and putting the bad ball away when it comes and just being clinical like that in putting partnerships together. It's the team that adapts quicker in the conditions that you're in that's going to win the game" he concluded.

New Zealand will square off against Pakistan in their first game of the T20 World Cup campaign on Tuesday at Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

Image: AP

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Published October 25th, 2021 at 18:59 IST

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