New Delhi, Oct 26: When the Virat Kohli-led Indian cricket team take field against New Zealand in the ongoing Men’s T20 World Cup on Sunday, they will aim to leave the ghosts of poor records versus Black Caps in major International Cricket Council (ICC) events behind and script a new history on the map of world cricket.
Time and again, New Zealand have proven that they are one of the toughest opponents for India in the ICC tournaments with the latest being the World Test Championship (WTC) final in June. India have outclassed every challenging opposition team at the ICC events in the last one decade or so, but they have failed to solve the mystery of Black Caps.
The Kiwis don’t depend on individual brilliance. They hunt in unison and always punch above their weight in ICC tournaments. They have a consistent record in the ICC events and one can’t rule them out in the final four.
India’s seven-wicket win in the 2003 World Cup under Sourav Ganguly was the last time they beat the Kiwis in an ICC tournament.
Last five meetings
– 2021 WTC Final: New Zealand beat India by 8 wickets in Southampton
– 2019 WC semi-final: New Zealand beat India by 18 runs in Manchester
– 2016 T20 WC: New Zealand beat India by 47 runs in Nagpur
– 2007 T20 WC: New Zealand beat India by 10 runs in Johannesburg
– 2003 WC: India beat New Zealand by 7 wickets in Centurion
New Zealand also hold the edge over India in all T20Is. In 16 meetings, it has managed an 8-6 (win-loss) record over India.
New Zealand have tall fast bowlers – Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson and Kyle Jamieson, who can swing the ball in the powerplay overs. India’s top 3 featuring KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will have to carefully tackle the swing and deadly pace in order to win the battle against Kiwis. The likes of Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santer are also unlikely to give freebies to ‘Men in Blue’.
In bowling too, the ordinary performances of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja against Pakistan doesn’t give much confidence. But, the inclusion of Shardul Thakur, who is in red-hot form and R Ashwin, can bring some fresh change for India when they face the Black Caps batting line featuring Martin Guptill, Tim Seifert, Kane Williamson, Devon Conway and others.
Though the current Indian team have surprised everyone with bad performances from time to time in the last few years, they have also shown that they have the capability to make roaring comebacks.
Six teams – New Zealand, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Scotland and Namibia are placed in Group 2 and the top two sides will progress to the semifinals. If India fail to beat New Zealand, then it could be an interesting race in Group 2 to qualify for the last four. (IANS)
