Back in 1996 when four-year-old Inderbir (Ish) Singh Sodhi had to relocate from Khanna, a small town in Punjab's Ludhiana district, to South Auckland, he never imagined that one day he will be spinning his adopted country to a big victory against the country of his birth.
Now 23, Sodhi's India visits have become regular. He visits the country of his birth every 3-4 years, but none would have been more memorable than the present sojourn. The Kiwi leg-spinner set the WorldT20 alight with a magnificent spell of 3-18 against India, which saw New Zealand beat their much-fancied rivals by 47 runs.
Sodhi has carved a name for himself outside the country of his birth. Before Sodhi, another expat in New Zealand, Dipak Patel - an offspinner - had made heads turn during the 1992 World Cup (50-overs) when Martin Crowe had thrown the new ball to him. Such a move - a spinner opening the bowling was unprecedented and Patel and NZ enjoyed quite a successful run during the tournament. Not much differently, this time, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson, just like Crowe, made a brave move by picking three frontline spinners against India. Given that Indian batsmen are perceived to be good players of spin, the tactic was expected to backfire especially when fast bowlers like Trent Boult and Tim Southee were left on the bench.
But the Kiwi spinners, and principally Sodhi, repaid their captains faith brilliantly. That spin would be a weapon for the Black Caps was hardly thought of, and now the New Zealand team is inclined to use it more often in the ongoing World T20.
“We want to play fearless and aggressive cricket and if that means going into a match with three spinners, then so be it. All our spinners bowled well, but Ish was outstanding.The amount of turn he was generating was incredible. He is very young and is improving with every passing game,” Kiwi middle-order mainstay Ross Taylor said.
“Every game is played differently and as a bowler one has to assess the conditions. Ish will take a lot of confidence from the last game (against India), a lot of good memories and the control he has over his bowling will stand him in good stead,” Taylor reflected.
