New Zealand are a mere 107 runs away from registering a rare Test victory in India, but pacer William O’Rourke said it will not be a cakewalk for them despite the modest nature of the target. The Kiwis bowled India out for 462 in their second innings with O’Rourke and fellow pacer Matt Henry sharing six wickets equally among them.
“I wouldn’t say it’s an easy win from here. We’ve got a world-class team going up against us. But we’ve got to be confident going out there tomorrow,” said O’Rourke during the post-day press meet.
“Hopefully, for our sake the rain stays away and we get a chance to have a crack at it,” he added. O’Rourke said his first outing in India has been enjoyable so far because of the pace and bounce the Chinnaswamy Stadium offered.
“My first time here so probably had a little bit more bounce, a bit more pace than what we probably expected coming over here which obviously suits a bowler like me,” he said.
It was evident in the way he dismissed Virat Kohli in the first innings with a steep climber onto the star batter’s body, which he jabbed to Glenn Phillips at gully. O’Rourke made a special mention about Kohli’s wicket.
“It’s obviously pretty special getting someone so great, one of the greats of our game, out like that. Obviously, you grow up watching those guys. So, to come here and take that wicket, it’s probably right up there.”
The 23-year-old pacer said Sarfaraz Khan (150) and Rishabh Pant (99) put a lot of pressure on the Kiwis while adding 177 runs for the fourth wicket. “I’ve been pretty hot and cold with the ball. Pant and Sarfaraz have batted very well for a long time, but that second new ball started doing a little bit for us.
“So, good to Timmy (Southee) getting that first breakthrough (Sarfaraz) and then lucky enough to get a chop (Pant) there to sort of give us a bit of momentum going through,” he noted.
O’Rourke also thanked Kyle Jamieson for being his mentor. Jamieson is currently recuperating from a back stress fracture and is not expected to comeback until early next year at least. “Kyle’s been a bit in the background. So, learning from him and, obviously, he’s had a hell of a start to his international career and he’s one of the best bowlers in the world,” he added.
