New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner knows that stopping Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will be one of the biggest challenges for his team in the upcoming five-match ODI series against India. The series begins at Eden Park on Wednesday, November 4.

Kohli and Rohit have been in the spotlight ever since arriving in New Zealand. Videos of the two senior batters practising together have also gone viral on social media, adding to the excitement among fans ahead of the series.

Both players have been in good form, and New Zealand will be keen to find a way to stop them from making big contributions. The series is also important for both teams as they continue their preparations for the 2027 ODI World Cup.

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Mitchell Santner Reveals New Zealand’s Plan To Stop Kohli And Rohit

Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Santner admitted that New Zealand would look to dismiss the two Indian stars early in every game.

“Yeah, I guess we would try to stop them pretty early in every game, ideally,” Santner said.

The New Zealand captain also acknowledged the experience and impact of the Indian duo, who have been among the most successful batters in ODI cricket for several years.

He explained that Rohit and Kohli play an important role in giving India a strong start and setting up the innings for the middle and lower order.

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“We’ve seen the top order of India for a long time. Rohit and Kohli have done it for a long time. Their role is to go pretty hard at the top and then set up a good score in the middle and then let their power kind of come in at the end,” he added.

Santner Hopes For Help From New Zealand Pitches

Santner also believes that the conditions could play an important role in New Zealand’s plans against India’s experienced batting line-up.

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The left-arm spinner hopes the pitches offer some assistance to the fast bowlers, making it difficult for the Indian batters to play freely. However, he admitted that stopping players like Kohli and Rohit becomes a bigger challenge when the surface offers little help to the bowlers.

“So, I think if it does a little bit, it kind of brings the seamers back into the game a little bit. But when we’ve seen it’s flat, it’s how do we stop the likes of those guys?” he said.

Santner also pointed out that the nature of ODI cricket has changed, with teams now regularly looking to score much more than the traditional 250-260 runs.

Mitchell Santner Praises Rohit Sharma And Virat Kohli

With Kohli and Rohit set to feature in the series, Santner expects large crowds at the stadiums. He said the presence of the two Indian stars would add to the excitement, especially after the good response during the T20I series.

“As we’ve seen throughout the T20 series, we’ve had some really good crowds, and I expect they’ll be the same with Rohit and Virat being here,” Santner said.

The New Zealand skipper also praised the two batters for continuing to perform at a high level despite being in their late 30s.

“We know how good they are. I guess they’re getting old, but they are still playing very well. We saw it against the West Indies. I’ve seen it for a long time. I’ve seen Rohit in the IPL as well,” he added.

Santner further revealed that the New Zealand bowling group has already discussed how to approach India’s batting line-up, keeping the conditions in mind.

The hosts are preparing for different situations, whether the pitch offers assistance to the bowlers or turns out to be a good surface for batting.


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