'You've got to be quite smart against him. If he gets on a roll, he's pretty tough to stop. As we've seen, he has bowled extremely well'
Mumbai Indians' spinner Mitchell Santner on Saturday said facing Chennai Super Kings' spinner Noor Ahmad will be a tough task if the Wankhede Stadium pitch retains its gripping character from the previous match against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Mumbai came out on top on a spin-friendly pitch which made stroke-play difficult against the Hyderabad side to eke out their second win on the trot this season.
But playing on a similar surface could be challenging against CSK who boasts of Afghanistan's Ahmad who has taken 12 wickets in seven matches, alongside senior tweakers Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin in their ranks.
"I've seen a lot of him recently, played against him, played with him in the MLC (Major League Cricket in the USA). Obviously, (he is) a great bowler,” Santner told the media before MI's training here.
“I guess the mystery -- he's hard to pick at times -- we've seen through this tournament especially in Chennai, where there has been a little bit of assistance, he's been outstanding.
“If it is going to be a slightly slower wicket like last game, we know he's going to be a challenge. If they go to other spinners, they will be as well. You've got to be quite smart against him. If he gets on a roll, he's pretty tough to stop. As we've seen, he has bowled extremely well,” Santner added.
The Kiwi said a “good wicket” can be expected for Sunday's contest after MI played on a slow turner against SRH at the Wankhede on Thursday.
"I didn't actually have a look at the pitch but we know how good Hyderabad are on flat wickets. I guess there was an option to make it slightly slower and I thought our bowlers did a great job. Like you said, taking pace off onto the wicket, using the dimensions a little bit,” he said.
“Not sure what it's going to play like (against Chennai) but we speak as a unit, adapting as fast as we can. Traditionally, it is a very good wicket so if it is like that, it's (about) getting in and out of overs.
“If it is like that, we know how to bowl and then if it is flat, like the Bangalore (RCB) game, we know that (too) — try and get in and out of overs. The only way to slow teams down is wickets as we've seen this IPL,” he added.
Santner said he wasn't sure if fellow spinner Karn Sharma would be available for the contest against CSK.
“He has got a couple of stitches in his hand. He's here today, I'm not sure if he's bowling or if he's available for tomorrow, but it looked like a nasty little cut and it's a shame,” Santner said.
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