Williamson counts on experience gained during World T20

Kanpur, Sep 21 (PTI) With spin expected to have animpact on the outcome of the opening Test starting heretomorrow, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson is hoping thatthe lessons learnt during the World Twenty20 in India willhelp his side’s spinners counter the hosts. New Zealand had reached the semi-finals of World T20 andMitchel Santner (4/11 in 4 overs) had recorded the bestfigures for a Kiwi spinner in Twenty20s en route to theirknock out stage appearance. Those figures had come for a winning cause against Indiain Nagpur and he was well supported by Ish Sodhi, who tookthree wickets in that match. These two spinners — Santner andSodhi — will challenge the Indian batting line-up in thisTest series. Asked if Kiwi spinners can match that of India’s,Williamson said he was quite optimistic. "They (India) have got very good spinners, naturally veryexperienced in these conditions. We have some exciting youngtalent. We showed that in the T20 World Cup. That was huge forus. Yes, the formats are different, but I am hoping we canbuild on from those experiences," Williamson said ahead oftomorrow’s first Test. "A lot of learning experiences to be had. Certainly thisis one of them, being exposed in these conditions. They aresuited to spin bowling so we are hoping they can play a bigpart in the series." Williamson did not make a big issue of having just onepractice game under their belt in the build up to the seriesbut said if Kotla track had offered more spin, it would havebeen better for them. "The wicket in the warm-up game was still slow, and itdid deteriorate a little bit. So, there was some good practicethere. Perhaps it would have been nicer if it had spun alittle bit more. At the same time a lot of positives came outof it and practice wickets were good yesterday once the grasswas shaved off," he said. "All the preparation you can get is important. The natureof the international cricket is such that you go from one tourto another and you cannot get everything perfect but we havecome at the back of some cricket which is important. We havehad a week in Delhi to prepare as well and the guys arelooking forward to the cricket." PTI AT PDSCM