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

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.)