Auckland, Nov 5 — India seamer Gurnoor Brar has credited a quick tactical rethink and some advice from his captain Shubman Gill and fellow pacers Arshdeep Singh and Anshul Kamboj after picking a three-wicket haul in the first ODI against New Zealand at Eden Park.
Brar returned 3-44, as India’s pace attack bundled out New Zealand for 185 in 40.2 overs to set up a five-wicket win by the DLS method at the Eden Park on Wednesday. “The atmosphere here is very good for bowling. The wickets are quite good.
“We had practiced here for four or five days earlier, so the wicket was similar. I just backed my length and my bowling style, and these are the results,” Brar said in a video posted on the BCCI’s social media accounts on Thursday.
The tall seamer had been hit for a six in his very first over and he said that prompted a change of plan. “The game plan was that the straight boundary here is a bit short. The six I conceded off my first over was on a slightly fullish delivery. So my thought process was to pull the length back and make it hard to hit over square leg or fine leg.
“I discussed this with Shubman, Arshdeep and Anshul, who had bowled on this wicket before, and they suggested if we hit the hard length, I would get better bounce because of my height.”
India’s seamers found movement and bounce from just short of a good length throughout. Arshdeep Singh took 4-70, and Anshul Kamboj, named Player of the Match, gave away only 22 runs in his 10 overs while claiming two wickets. Brar stated the collective effort of the four-pronged pace attack made the day special.
“All four of us have got an opportunity together. Obviously, Arsh has played a lot of games. He is the most experienced bowler in India in the T20s. So, my plan was that if I am here to bowl, I have to back myself up and I have to win it for this team. That combined effort made it even more fun.
“Even Auqib (Nabi) didn’t get a wicket, but he bowled brilliantly and Anshul bowled brilliantly. I bowled a brilliant spell as well and had wickets too. So, it feels really good if all four fast bowlers are playing for a purpose, and we achieve that. So, hopefully, we will keep doing this.”
Kamboj, who conceded 82 runs without a wicket on his ODI debut against the West Indies in New Chandigarh last month, said he had kept his focus on the conditions and bowling the right lengths.
“Basically, I wasn’t thinking much about it. I was just thinking about the situation and what the situation demands, and according to that, I should execute my plans and lengths more and not think about other things. It’s because at last, you have to see what’s happening with the wicket, what is the right length you want to bowl. So, I should focus more on that.”
The Haryana pacer further said his outlook had changed since his international debut came in a Test match against England in Manchester in 2025, which didn’t go too well. “My approach and mindset about cricket has changed. I am playing cricket with an attacking mindset due to more games being played nowadays.
“So, I am playing better with an attacking mindset now. My body language is better and this was my mindset after I made my debut – to keep my body language and mindset attacking so that my body language becomes positive.”
Kamboj added that one bad outing was never going to define him. “I wanted to focus on what I am doing well and not focus on what went wrong. But no one’s career is decided by a single match because the hard work of 10-12 years, it can’t be decided by a single match. So, I wanted to change my approach and keep my mindset attacking.”
Chasing a revised target of 143 in 32 overs after two rain breaks, India got home in 22.4 overs, with Virat Kohli making 74 off 51 balls. India lead the five-match series 1-0, with the second game to be played in Wellington on Saturday.