NZ worried about formidable Indian middle-order

A ‘dangerous´ Virender Sehwag, ‘great´ Rahul Dravid, ‘top´ Sachin Tendulkar and a ‘fantastic´ VVS Laxman are giving sleepless nights to Kiwi players and coach Andy Moles.

New Zealand are scheduled to play Twenty20 matches and one-day series against India first but they have already started planning for the later Test series, thanks to a deadly middle-order, which adorns the visitors batting line-up.

Vettori, Moles and explosive batsman Bredon McCullum discussed the strategy to tame the awesome foursome in a recent team meeting.

“Guys, it’s important we start well, bowl good lines, hit the seam. There’s some good players in that line-up. Let’s have a look at some. Virender Sehwag - any thoughts?,” Moles asked in his conversation with key players.

Vettori replied,“Dangerous player. If we don’t get him early, he could take the game away from you.”

“Rahul Dravid? was the next query from Moles and McCullum said “Great player. If we don’t get him early, he’ll happily bat all day.

What about Sachin Tendulkar asked Moles and Vettori said, “Top, top player. If we don’t get him early, he’ll make us look ordinary,” according to a report in New Zealand Herald.

Queried about the wrist Laxman, McCullum said, “Fantastic player. If we don’t get him early, we could be staring at a total of 500-plus.”

After listening to such praise of the rival players, Moles’ suggestion was: “Simple then - if we don’t get them early, we’re in the s***.”

The Test series will be played from March 18 after the five-match one-day series.