India vs New Zealand: Finn Allen says role clarity helps him bat aggressively

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Bengaluru, November 20: Finn Allen is the latest star to rise in the T20 horizon as the New Zealand opener has showed incredible hitting prowess in the shortest format of the game over the last year.

The ability to clear boundaries has made him an instant hit in T20, and a sought-after player in the circuit.

Allen showed his power in the T20 World Cup 2022 match against Australia at Brisbane when he smashed 42 off just 16 balls that laid the foundation for Kiwis’ total of 200 for 3, and an eventual 89-run victory.

Allen’s presence at the top of the order has become a necessity for the Black Caps, and him failing to fire affected their progress as it was evident in the semifinal match against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup semifinal at Sydney.

Allen attributed that consistency to the clarity of the role given to him by the New Zealand team management.

“That’s something I enjoyed a lot coming into the group, the clarity of role given to me. It makes it easy for me to go out there and bat with the same mindset. I just want to keep playing the same brand of cricket, the same way as I have been batting,” Allen told during an interaction facilitated by the Amazon Prime Video.

But that is just one part as Allen has already been a star in the T20 leagues across the world, more so at the Vitality Blast and the Hundred in England. In the Blast, he made 399 runs at 160 for Lancashire and had an equally impressive stint with Birmingham Phoenix in the Hundred where he made runs at 150.

But coming in to a national team set up would have been very different from the T20 leagues set up.

So, how tough it was for him to come to the New Zealand squad and find a place of his own in such a short time?

“Actually, it was a pretty easy environment to come in, the coaching staff and the players…all were very welcoming and it does not feel that I have already played 31 games (23 T20Is and 8 ODIs) for New Zealand and it all happened so quickly, and it is a great group to be part of,” said Allen.

Allen has seen a bit of Indian players from close quarters during his time with the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League and the Kiwi opener expects nothing less than a tight contest.

“I know a few of them from the Royal Challengers Bangalore days, like (Mohammad) Siraj, and Yuzi Chahal in my first year there. They have also got some quality guys in there, who can swing it both ways and turn it both ways as well. So, it is going to be a challenging one for us and we need to get up and ready to go from ball one,” said Allen.

That ability to get going from ball one makes Allen a different threat to the bowlers. New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson asserted it.

“Finn's a very exciting talent, it's been great to see him in the side and expressing himself. Being so young as well, you see so much potential and talent and getting more cricket under his belt is only going to be more helpful to nurturing that and continuing his upward trend as a player.

“He's looking forward to this series (vs India) as well. He certainly goes out with the intention of playing very aggressively,” said Williamson.

The right-handed opener said facing India in a bilateral series is a massive experience like no other, considering the quality of the opposition and the entire atmosphere surrounding the cricket involving Men in Blue.

“It is massive. We did not get to play them in the World Cup and it is pretty exciting to go up against them in the home series. Unfortunately, there was no play at Wellington, and hopefully we will get some action here and it is going to be an exciting series with a lot of crowd coming in as well,” said Allen.

The only spanner in the wheel for the New Zealand vs India white ball series is the prediction for a rough weather. Allen said that’s something beyond everyone’s control but they should ready to play cricket as much as they can.

“It is beyond our control (weather), as what we can hope for is a clear weather and cricket as much as possible. We hope that we will get action along the way very soon. It will be exciting,” said Allen.

New Zealand and India are playing a white ball series involving three T20Is and three ODIs.

(Watch the India tour of New Zealand live and exclusive on Prime Video from Nov 18 to Nov 30. The coverage of the second and the third T20Is on 20th and 22nd November beginning on 11 am IST, and ODIs on 25th, 27th and 30th November beginning on 6 am IST.)