India, Jan. 16 -- Batting mainstay Daryl Mitchell said preparing at New Zealand Cricket's specially designed pitch marquee facility at Lincoln helped him master the spin-friendly tracks in the sub-continent. Trailing by only one rating point to super star batter Virat Kohli in the ICC rankings for ODI batters, Mitchell has been in a red-hot form against India in their backyard, having notched up scores of 130, 134, 84 and 131 not out in the last four outings. The 34-year-old Mitchell produced a splendid 117-ball 131 not out here on Wednesday to defy India, powering New Zealand's series-levelling seven-wicket win in the second ODI.

"There's been plenty, plenty mornings in the marquee down in the South Island in Lincoln on some prepared du...