Bowling against New Zealand at Eden Park was the toughest challenge: Agar

London :Australia’s terrific chase of 244 against New Zealand was the highest target successfully chase in the history of T20 cricket. The encounter in Auckland also witnessed a stunning aggregate of 488 runs, third highest in T20 cricket. While batsmen made merry on a placid wicket, bowlers bore the brunt of brutal assaults. With figures of 0/24 in three overs, Australia’s Ashton Agar turned out to be the most economical bowler for both the teams. Revealing that before the match he knew it was going to be a massive challenge to bowl on a belter, Agar said that he was pretty relaxed about it and was focussed on his deliveries.
Reflecting on his performance and the task of bowling on such a challenging surface, Agar said, “Number one (challenge wise), absolutely. I’ve played against a few players that have hit me for plenty of sixes before in T20 cricket but I’ve never played on a ground like this.”
“Especially Munro (and Guptill) – they’re trying to hit you for six every ball. So, it was pretty interesting,” cricbuzz quoted him saying.
“It was a massive challenge but I was pretty relaxed about it,” he said before adding, “I’d accepted before the game that if I get hit, I’ve just got to turn around, keep a smile on my face and try my best the next ball, and that’s how the whole team went about it. We might be able to go about it a little bit smarter.”
Giving insights on how the Australian team is preparing for the finals, the left-armer said, “Just working on our lengths and matching our balls to our fields. If they’re hitting us off a really tough length, well played to them,” he added. “But some people are going to get away to a flyer here.”
“You just look at how short it is straight – you’re on the ring and you feel like you’re on the fence,” he said. “It’s a really unique ground and things are going to happen differently here. You’ve just got to bounce back and keep trying to find ways to slow them down,” he concluded by saying.