Tag: #NEW ZEALAND

New Zealand fretted India & took the gas out of India

New Zealand did an improbable effort to draw the 1st Test Match against India at Kanpur. The pitch of Kanpur was uneven where the batters had a strenuous task on their head. New Zealand started off their defense of ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2021-23.

India had a golden opportunity to stamp their authority. A target of 284 runs was literally impossible to chase down for Kiwis. The pitch was treacherous as the pitch was no less than a minefield yet a sporting wicket. Overnight on the 4th day of the Test Match India had got rid of Will Young.

Tom Latham & the night-watchman Will Somerville were cautious in the 1st Session. They both went unscathed into the lunch break. New Zealand required 205 runs in last 2 sessions which was a daunting & an unrealistic equation to attain. Rahane tried every trick in the book but New Zealand’s resilience was remarkable.

On the very first ball Umesh Yadav sent Somerville back to pavilion by bowling a pre-planned short ball. All of a sudden India sensed that they are in this. Somerville played an innings full of character by consuming 110 balls & scored 36 runs. Kane Williamson & Tom Latham made it clear that they need to see of the first half an hour. The Runs were hard to come as the ball was keeping eye-bogglingly low.

Tom Latham displayed complete mental application by notching up a half century of 52 runs in 146 balls. He was solid as rock but a little lapse of concentration paved the way for India. Ashwin has made a habit of dismissing Tom Latham in India as he has been his victim 6 times out of 8. Just at the brink of Tea New Zealand got another heart-attack as Ravindra Jadeja trapped Ross Taylor. The chance of a New Zealand win was out of the context as scoring 5 runs per over is quite not possible.

New Zealand had 6 wickets in hand & more than 30 overs were left. Rahane’s captaincy was spot on as he didn’t waste any time. Jadeja & Axar demolished New Zealand’s batting line up as their recognized batters were back at the hut. New Zealand had to play out a minimum 25 overs. It looked like the end is near as India’s spinners were ruthless.

Tom Blundell, Rachin Ravindra, Kyle Jamieson, Ajaz Patel & Tim Southee played out of their skin. The defense was at the peak as every bowler was helpless. Ashwin & Jadeja the current two stalwarts of India’s spin bowling had a nerve-wrecking day. Jadeja was lethal with the ball as he took 4 wickets.

The 10th wicket-partnership between Ajaz Patel & Rachin Ravindra was a treat to watch. Both the batters showed immense courage to block the ball. New Zealand somehow avoided their ship to sink. At 98 overs New Zealand scored 165-9 runs. Due to the bad light the match was stopped, the full quota of 90 overs on the 5th day was attained.

New Zealand pulled out a heist as a draw is as equal to a victory. India would be banging their heads as they failed to seize the moment. New Zealand would be smirking as once again they thrashed a billion people’s dreams in ICC Fixtures.

New Zealand & India both the teams got 6 points for the Test Match. India have got themselves to blame as 90+ overs are adequate to run out the opposition. The 2nd Test Match is at Mumbai where we can expect a similar turner pitch.

Virat Kohli is going to resume his captaincy duties. The conundrum for Rahul Dravid is that who sits out as Shreyas Iyer has had a dream debut by notching a century & a half century. Rahane & Pujara are off-colors & at the twilight of their career as dropping one of them would literally mean that their career is over.

Virat Kohli & Rahul Dravid would look to rectify their mistakes & avoid an ignominy as India is not performing according to their credentials. The only way India can demolish New Zealand is by scoring gigantic 1st inning score of 400+ runs irrespective of batting 1st or 2nd.  

It seems likely that New Zealand would once again bury India alive. The way Black Caps have saved the Test Match augurs their preparation which may be short yet powerful. There are some loopholes regarding their batting collapses which quickly needs a turnaround.  New Zealand’s last Test Series victory came in 1964-65, New Zealand had won the series by 1-0 (4 Test Match Series). It has been 57 years since New Zealand have tasted success in India which is like ages. The pace duo of Southee & Jamieson holds the key as both of them have express speed. New Zealand experimented with 3 spinners which wasn’t as fruitful as compared to India.

India hasn’t lost a single TEST Series in India since 2012; England had defeated India by 2-1. This record is in danger as India looks a bruised side whose traces are visible given their recent failures at ICC Events.

Mitchell Marsh & David Warner Ravaged New Zealand to Clinch Australia’s Maiden T20 World Cup Triumph

Australia ended a long hiatus of T20 World Cup Silverware. The emotions of all the Aussie players were seen as this time the Cricketers were having tears of joy. Australia would be booming with confidence as no one expected them to win the elusive trophy.

Skipper Aaron Finch & Team Members Cherishing the Moment of becoming ICC T20 World Cup 2021 Champions

Australia had won the toss & elected to bowl first. Bowling first was an obvious choice considering the dew factor. Tim Seifert played in the place of Devon Conway who unfortunately had a freaky injury. Australia had an unchanged playing 11 as they didn’t want to disturb the balance of the team.

New Zealand were cautious with the bat. Martin Guptill was dropped on 10 by Wade on the bowling off Glenn Maxwell in the 3rd over. There was a setup for the Lethal Daryl Mitchell from Josh Hazelwood who irked him by bowling immaculate lines. New Zealand had a mediocre power-play as they scored a mere 32 runs for the loss of 1 wicket. This was New Zealand’s lowest power-play score in the Tournament.

Kane Williamson & Martin Guptill didn’t play with fire; as surprisingly there was a tinge of grass on the wicket which was enough for bowlers to capitalise on it. Aaron Finch was marshalling his troops at his best by drying up the boundaries; as at the end of 10 overs New Zealand had struck only 6 boundaries which consisted of 5 fours & 1 six and scored 57 runs. Kane Williamson was itching as he was aware of the fact that a score of 130-140 runs was unacceptable.

: Kane Williamson & Martin Guptill rotating the strike due to the nature of wicket

Kane Williamson took a bold decision as he targeted Mitchell Starc. In the 11th over Kane Williamson was dropped on 21 by Josh Hazlewood on the bowling off Mitchell Starc. Kane got a life & he made sure that Aussie would rue it. Martin Guptill was struggling to time the ball as he was undone the variation of Adam Zampa (*Guptill scored 28 runs in 35 balls).

Kane took calculative risk & pummelled Starc, Maxwell & every bowler through crafty shots. In the 16th over Kane Williamson had scored 22 runs against Starc.

Kane Williamson toying with the bowling of Mitchell Starc as Starc looks crestfallen

Josh Hazlewood the man with the golden arm dented Kiwi’s onslaught as he got rid of Kane Williamson in the 18th over (*Score was 149-4 at the end of over) by bowling a cunning knuckle ball. Kane stood out as a one-man army as he smashed 85 runs in 48 balls including 10 fours & 3 sixes.

SNAPSHOT: Kane Williamson playing an audacious shot against the Giants of Fast Bowling.
 

At the back-end James Neesham & Tim Seifert posted a formidable target of 173 runs. This was the highest total in the history of T20I World Cup. Mitchell Starc got bashed as he gave away eye-boggling 60 runs in his 4 over spell. The pick of the bowlers was Josh Hazlewood who took 3 wickets & gave away 16 runs in his spell. The bowlers had a topsy-turvy day as the final 10 overs yielded 115 runs.

SNAPSHOT: Josh Hazlewood proved to be a wicket-taking option.
 

In response to 173 target Trent Boult got rid off Aaron Finch cheaply. Once again, the duo of Mitchell Marsh & David Warner was at the crease. In the 4th over Mitchell Marsh went into beast mode as he smashed a six on the very first ball of Adam Milne; he made a statement that he means business. There was a complete assessment done by both the batters. Australia scored 43 runs in the power-play overs.

The duo of David Warner & Mitchell Marsh playing smart & sensible Cricket

It was expected that Ish Sodhi & Mitchell Santner would be the nemesis for Aussies; but David Warner & Mitchell Marsh didn’t allow them to settle. Marsh took care of Santner whereas Warner dismantled Sodhi. All of a sudden Australia were cruising as they scored 39 runs off 4 overs (*2 overs a piece from each spinner).

The equation for Australia was pretty simple as they required 91 runs to win in 10 overs. The introduction of James Neesham weakened Kiwi’s chances as the stroke-play & hitting was a spellbound. Warner smashed his half century in 51 balls & made a statement that he is not finished yet.

SNAPSHOT: David Warner anchoring the run chase by playing eclectic brand of Cricket.

It was looking like a Cake Walk as Aussies required 67 to win in last 8 overs. In the 13th over Trent Boult reignited the finale by castling David Warner’s stumps. Warner constructed the run-chase as he scored 53 runs in 38 balls.

In the 14th over Mitchell Marsh worsened Ish Sodhi’s figures & New Zealand’s chances furthermore as Sodhi conceded 16 runs. Mitchell Marsh scored the fastest half century in 31 balls in the History of T20 World Cup Final. Ish Sodhi had a forgettable World Cup finale as he gave away 40 runs in 3 overs.

Mitchell Marsh plundering Ish Sodhi & taking Australia closer to Victory

The pendulum shifted quite quickly from New Zealand to Australia. Australia required 48 in 6 overs. Glenn Maxwell got promotion as he was batting ahead of Steven Smith. He took pressure off Mitchell Marsh as he too deepened the agony. Kane Williamson was seen helpless as his bowlers were getting demolished.

Glenn Maxwell wrapped up the game by his typical switch hit as Australia got the crown of T20 World Cup Champions. Australia chased down the target by 8 wickets with 1.1 overs remaining. Maxwell’s knock was a supporting as he scored 23 runs in 16 balls. Mitchell Marsh was the chief of the Run Chase as he scored 77 runs in 50 balls which consisted of 6 fours & 4 sixes. David Warner’s knock was of utmost important as he didn’t allow the game to drift away.

Mitchell Marsh & team members are Jubilant as Australia finally won T20 World Cup

Trent Boult was the only pick of the bowlers who took 2 wickets & gave away 18 runs. New Zealand would be shell-shocked as Aussies hammered them. Throughout the tournament New Zealand’s bowling clicked but at the last junction they succumbed to the pressure. Kane Williamson should be proud of his team & of himself as he is continuing one of the greatest legacies.

Australia have silenced all the experts regarding bubble life & rotation policy. It is often said that the team which stays together & plays together only wins which now can’t be said. The Credit must go to the Head Coach Justin Langer who has faced a lot of criticism for team’s failure in the last 6-8 months.

Smiling Justin Langer has become a T20 World Cup Winning Coach

David Warner was ecstatic as he silenced the entire Cricketing World as many experts had written him off. David Warner was awarded as the Player of the Tournament as he amassed 289 runs. David Warner is the architect behind the Triumph as his brand of Cricket was Versatile.

Mitchell Marsh’s presence at the top of the order made the difference as he took the responsibility of finishing the matches. The only positive which Australia had from the tours of Caribbean & Bangladesh was Mitchell Marsh. In the last 6 months he has played like a Warrior.

Australia & New Zealand Tussle for their Maiden T20 World Cup Trophy

Australia & New Zealand have been the underdogs at the ICC T20 World Cup 2021. The onus was completely on the likes of India, England, West Indies & Pakistan who failed on the given day. Australia got their star players back at the 11th hour; whereas New Zealand emphasized on the process by entrusting tyro players.

T20 World Cup 2021: Sunil Gavaskar picks his favorite between Australia and New Zealand
SNAPSHOT: Aaron Finch & Kane Williamson
  • Journey

Aussies & Kiwis journey throughout the tournament was very tough. Australia had placed in a precarious group which consisted of: South Africa, England, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka & West Indies. Each & Every game of Australia was a literally do-or-die. They vanquished all the teams except England who buried them alive. The victory against Pakistan in the Semi Final has raised a lot of eye-brows. Australia is finding match-winners at 11th hour too in the form of Matthew Wade & Marcus Stoinis.

New Zealand were placed in a comfortable group yet challenging. They faced Juvenile & Champion Teams. New Zealand’s opening defeat against Pakistan made their task a bit complicated. New Zealand virtually & literally ended hopes of a billion people by decimating India on 31st October.  New Zealand played last 3 matches on alternate day (*3rd, 5th & 7th November) at 3 different venues: Dubai, Sharjah & Abu Dhabi. New Zealand overcame the heat & humidity & eventually at the end of the day they made it to the Semis. The mighty Kiwis Walloped England with an unknown duo of Daryl Mitchell & Devon Conway. New Zealand are proving to be the silent yet resounding Performers at the World Stage.

  • History at T20I’s

Australia has the wood over New Zealand in T20I’s where they have won 9 matches out of 14. New Zealand have won 4 whereas 1 match was tied.

New Zealand’s last 3 wins against Australia have come in their home season of 2020-21. New Zealand had won the 5 T20I Match Series by 3-2 (February-March 2021). The likes of Steven Smith, David Warner, Mitchell Starc, Patrick Cummins & Josh Hazlewood were the notable absentees from that tour; all of these were expected to play a Test Series in South Africa (March) which Cricket Australia (CA) later cancelled citing Covid-19 Concerns at South Africa.

  • Head-to-Head at ICC T20 World Cups

Aussies & Kiwis have clashed only once in ICC T20 World Cup. In T20 World Cup 2016 Australia & New Zealand were placed in a group along with Pakistan, Bangladesh & India.

The match was played at Dharamshala, India. It was a tight contest in which New Zealand scrapped out a victory by 8 runs. New Zealand’s team had set a target of 143 runs. In that T20 World Cup Australia made a type of blunder by making Warner a middle order batter. The wrecker-in chief for New Zealand was Ish Sodhi who took 4 wickets for 14 runs in his spell.

The Black Caps have got the majority of bowlers present from that victory: Adam Milne, Ish Sodhi, Michell Santner which is an alarming sign for the Courageous Aussies. The Aussies have got the core of batters which will make the final a spicy contest.

  • Matchups

New Zealand have a huge concern as Devon Conway has injured his right hand by punching the bat in frustration after getting out against England. Conway’s absence has left a huge hole in the batting line-up as he has taken the team out of mud. Tim Seifert the swashbuckling wicket-keeper batter looks a likely replacement. The skipper Kane Williamson has not fired yet & most importantly New Zealand’s armor is their bowling not batting.

NZ's Devon Conway Ruled Out of 2021 T20 World Cup Final & India T20Is
SNAPSHOT: Devon Conway got injured by punching the bat.

Australia won’t make any sort of changes unless there is an unexpected injury/tactic. ‘The Big Show’ Glenn Maxwell has had a dismal tournament so far as he has scored 36 runs only. Aaron Finch too has been quiet with the bat.

Glenn Maxwell: A big, fat no show | ICC T20 World Cup 2021
SNAPSHOT: Glenn Maxwell has had a forgettable T20 World Cup so far.

In 2010 England had dethroned Australia for T20 World Cup Triumph. There are only 2 Cricketers present from that match which are: Steven Smith & David Warner. Both of the Cricketers had seen the pain of losing the final.

  • Pitch & Conditions

Toss has been a huge factor as teams winning the toss have won most Matches at Dubai. A score of 160-170 is par. Teams should aim to score at-least 180-200 runs as the scoreboard pressure keeps haunting the team batting second. New Zealand & Australia both chased down targets of 167 (*Abu Dhabi) & 177 runs with an over left.

  • Toss Factor in ICC T20 World Cups Final

In 6 T20 World Cups a total of 5 teams (India 2007, England 2010, West Indies 2012, Sri Lanka 2014, West Indies 2016) won the World Cups by winning the toss. Only Sri Lanka failed to take advantage of winning the toss in 2009 T20 World Cup.

  • Teams defending have won 2 times: India & West Indies (2012)
  • Teams chasing have won 4 times: Pakistan (2009), England, Sri Lanka, West Indies  

This is an indication that batting second is a favorable option. In case of Australia & New Zealand it won’t be applicable as both teams have got good bowling line up. We can be in for a 2007 or 2012 type of finale.

  • Keys to Win T20 World Cup
  • New Zealand have a slight advantage over Australia. Australia had succumbed to spin in their Semi Final where Shadab Khan had took 4 scalps. The nemesis of Ish Sodhi is due to haunt Australia as his 4 overs are invaluable. Ish Sodhi’s 4 overs would be decisive New Zealand would like to make a statement that they are no longer underdogs.
  • Australians know how to win Championships except T20 World Cup. This is the golden chance for Australia to showcase that they still are the Reining Champions of World Cricket. Australia have only one spin bowler Adam Zampa & his role is pivotal. Glenn Maxwell has to be spot on his line & length as his 2 overs are also enough to change the momentum. 5th bowler (Mitchell Marsh & Glenn Maxwell) overs should be wrapped up as quickly possible as New Zealand would try to target it.
  • Expected WINNER

Australia is the Favorite to win T20 World Cup because they have developed a fear factor amongst opponents like of 90s & 2000s.

New Zealand would believe that they will sneak out a victory but the wealth of experience of Aussies will undo them.

India & New Zealand face off in a Virtual Knock-out Punch as the Race for Semi-Finals gets tightened up

Overview

India & New Zealand are due to face each other on the 31st of October at Dubai International Stadium. Both the teams were handed humiliating & heart-breaking defeats by the ‘Mercurial & Unpredictable’ Pakistan. Virat Kohli & Kane Williamson would avoid the embarrassment by winning; especially India who would like to break the hoodoo of 14-year drought period without an ICC T20 World Cup Trophy.

New Zealand has had the wood over India in ICC T20 World Cups as both the teams have been clashed 2 times:

  • 1st instance was at the inaugural T20 World Cup 2007 where the hosts where South Africa. New Zealand overcame India by winning the match by 10 runs as a gigantic target of 191 runs was a bit too much at that period of time. The multi-star-studded batting line up which consisted of (*former batters) Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir tried but pressure got better of them as New Zealand’s bowlers were throwing unexpected surprises as the damage was done by the former left arm off spinner Daniel Vettori who had taken 4 wickets.
  • 2nd instance was in the last edition of ICC T20 World Cup 2016 at India. New Zealand had annihilated India by winning the match by 47 runs as New Zealand had bowled out India for 79 runs given the target of 127 runs. It was a shocking loss for India as Kiwi’s spinners had duped India batsmen who are known to be very good spin batters as the likes of Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli & Co was left stunned & flabbergasted by the immaculateness of Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi(** currently both of the spinners are in the playing 11) & Nathan McCullum(*former) who took 7 wickets amongst themselves.

In the recent times India has settled the record with New Zealand as in 2020 there was a bilateral 5 T20I Match Series in New Zealand in which India had whitewashed Kiwis. The overall record of India-New Zealand T20I matches stands at 6-8 out of 16 matches (* 2 matches were abandoned due to rain).

  • India

For India this is literally a do-or-die match as already their NRR (Net Run Rate) is -0.973. India’s conundrum of tackling swing bowling had got exposed as India had lost 3 wickets in power-play overs. The annoying problem for India is that Hardik Pandya isn’t 100 % match fit to play as an all-rounder as playing 5 bowlers isn’t a feasible option. Suryakumar Yadav who got drafted into playing 11 needs to play according to the situation as every time going for boundaries that too in crisis period isn’t a favourable option.

This is the first & last T20 World Cup for Virat Kohli as the Captain of Team India as earlier (before the start of the second leg of Vivo IPL 2021) he had announced his decision. Virat Kohli undoubtedly is one of the finest & greatest batters in the history of T20I Cricket as in the 1st match, he had showcased his prowess by scoring a fighting half century of 57 runs against Pakistan when the team was in a deep muddle. As of now India needs Virat the Leader who trusts his team players & most importantly makes sensible & practical decisions as picking Varun Chakravarthy over Ravichandran Ashwin is a blunder given the wealth of experience & skill Ashwin possesses.

SNAPSHOT: Virat Kohli raising his bat after leading the batting (57 runs) against Pakistan.

India may tinker with the bowling combination as all the three pacers: Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar & Jasprit Bumrah weren’t that much effective & productive. Shardul Thakur can come in as a replacement for any one of the pacers or for Hardik Pandya as he is a pinch-hitter too who can be handy in tense situation. One of KL Rahul & Rohit Sharma have to take responsibility of batting at-least till the 10th over as their presence keeps the opponent frightened.

  • New Zealand

New Zealand would rue the fact that they lost against Pakistan as at one situation they were in a commanding position & bossing the game. New Zealand’s NRR is not far behind from India as it stands at -0.532. New Zealand’s middle order is a bit fragile as the skipper Kane Williamson has to try & bat through the entire quota of 20 overs. James Neesham’s batting position needs to get sorted as he has batted as a finisher at No.6 or 7 throughout his career.

New Zealand astonishingly opened with the all-rounder Daryl Mitchell who had a decent outing as he scored a quick fire 27 runs in 20 balls but in doing so Tim Seifert the swashbuckling batter batted at No.7 position which affected the innings at the back end as Seifert wasn’t clearing the rope.

Before the start of their opening match against Pakistan; New Zealand were halted by the calf injury of the speedster Lockie Ferguson which ruled him out of the tournament. Lockie’s absence would hurt as he is one of the best amongst the crop of  Kiwis & World Cricket at death overs; while on the other side the gates have been opened for Adam Milne (*reserve player) who somewhat has shades of the former New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond who coincidentally is New Zealand’s fast bowling consultant. New Zealand are high on pace bowlers as they have the lanky Kyle Jamieson & the duo of Tim Southee-Trent Boult as these pacers are intimidating regardless of the pitch.

  • Pitch & Conditions

Dubai’s pitch is expected to be a run feast as the teams should target a score around 160-180 runs & even more as dew can be a decisive factor.

  • Keys to succeed in India vs New Zealand match

India’s strength is their power-packed batting line up; if they win the toss they should opt to bat irrespective of the conditions as New Zealand’s batting is topsy-turvy & scratchy.

New Zealand’s USP is their bowling as their bowling line up has got ingredients to suppress the opponent; but for that to happen the batters need to put a formidable total of 150-160 runs as 130 odd runs won’t win too many matches.

  • India is known to produce staggering performances to raise against the circumstances & would believe that the hopes of a billion people aren’t diminished.
  • New Zealand team’s idiosyncrasy is that they play like a team where they aren’t dependent on a single individual as they subsequently find multiple match winners on the given day.

It would be fascinating to see as which team’s journey would be stroked as both the teams are due to face Afghanistan, Scotland & Namibia where most likely they won’t have their fate in their hands. India have made it to the Semi Finals 3 times out of 6 (* 2007, 2014 & 2016) whereas New Zealand’s ratio is 2 times out of 6 (* 2007 & 2016).