Chennai, Feb 8 New Zealand pacer Lockie Ferguson said variations are "non-negotiable" for bowlers on Indian pitches after restricting Afghanistan's top order with two quick wickets during their T20 World Cup match here on Sunday.
Ferguson dismissed hard-hitting openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran in the sixth over to curb Afghanistan's early scoring intentions.
"I think in India, it's sometimes hard to know what a par score is. The years I've been coming, they've been getting better and better. Yes, having variations is essential. Every international bowler has those variations," Ferguson told the media in the post-match press conference.
New Zealand beat Afghanistan by five wickets to start their campaign on a winning note, and Ferguson was pleased to see his bowling unit mastering the Chepauk pitch.
"Some variations suit the bowling staff; for me, bowling from the back of the hand works well, for Matt Henry and Duffy, off-cutters are really nice. It's such an important part of the game, particularly in this part of the world where the pitches are so good.
"You need to change the ball in the air or off the surface, so I think it's something we work very hard on. Deciding when to use them is sometimes a challenge, and, of course, with the way I bowl, it's important to keep running in and bowling quickly. So, when those change-ups happen, it becomes more of a surprise," Ferguson elaborated.
However, Ferguson was delighted that his side secured two important points in a tight Group D.
"I think we've got a really tough pool. We had a heartbreaking loss in the last World Cup against a strong Afghanistan side. It was a close win, but getting those two points early in the tournament is important, just like it is for every team," he added.
We couldn't build pressure: Trott
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Afghanistan head coach Jonathan Trott said his side failed to maintain pressure after spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman took two early wickets to reduce the Kiwis to 14 for two.
"When Mujeeb got those two wickets in the first over, they then scored 40 in the next four overs or 38 in the next four overs, so they still finished the power play relatively strongly.
"If we had perhaps reduced that a little bit and then come out of the power play, there would have been more pressure on them. We weren't able to build that pressure on both sides," said Trott.
Trott also hoped that the Afghan top-order batters would use the power play segment more effectively in the coming matches.
"I think it depends on the surface as well; sometimes you have your targets, and sometimes it might be a little bit more than that. I think it's important to be flexible, but I think the power play is certainly going to be important.
"But the one thing I would say, and you've seen now, is the power that players and batters have at the end of the innings - we saw that in New Zealand, it was difficult to stop them," he said.