Australia are more than capable of trumping New Zealand in a World Twenty20 spin shootout, according to Shane Watson.
A spin-friendly deck is expected for Friday's trans-Tasman clash in Dharamsala, provided predicted showers don't eventuate and a match unfolds at the foot of the Indian Himalayas.
The T20 tournament started with NZ recording a shock win over hosts and title favourites India on a raging turner in Nagpur.
Tweakers Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi and Nathan McCullum spun the Black Caps to the boilover, taking nine of 10 wickets.
The trio won't be lacking in confidence given Australia's well-publicised issues facing spin.
"I'm not sure if I've seen a wicket turn as much as it did," Watson said.
"That was incredible.
"Seeing how difficult it was for the Indian players as well, when the ball was turning so much, gives everyone a bit of confidence.
"Even the best players in the world against spin do struggle when the ball is turning so much."
On the flip side, the pressure will be on legspinner Adam Zampa, offspinning allrounder Glenn Maxwell and potentially left-arm tweaker Ashton Agar to deliver for Australia.
Agar, who has recovered from a gastro bug that forced him to miss the side's World T20 warm-up match against West Indies, was initially expected to be left out of the XI.
But a turning pitch is set to convince coach Darren Lehmann and on-duty selector Mark Waugh to roll the dice and pick Agar.
"We've definitely got the spinners to do well over here if the wickets are turning, and up here it seems like the ball is going to turn," Watson said.
"Zampa is a very good defensive Twenty20 spinner as well as being an aggressive bowler. He's got both aspects so I think he'll do very well over here.
"Agar knows Twenty20 cricket well and we've got Glenn Maxwell as well, who obviously has played a lot of cricket over here."
Watson praised NZ selectors for making the bold decision to overlook star pacemen Trent Boult and Tim Southee for the tournament opener.
"It took a lot of courage by the New Zealanders to go against the grain," the allrounder said.
"It certainly paid dividends.
"That's the flexibility you have to have in these kinds of tournaments ... and the flexibility that we have within our squad means we're able to do that."
Agar trained well on Wednesday, confirming he is fully fit and has recovered from the illness that struck soon after landing in Kolkata.
"The poor fellow was pretty crook for those couple of days in Kolkata," Watson said.
"He's starting to get a little bit of colour back now ... he'll be ready to go if required."
Both sides are meant to be training on Thursday but predicted heavy showers could restrict them to an indoor hit.
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