IND vs NZ | Takeaways –Trent Boult weaves magic and Ravindra Jadeja’s road to redemption
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New Zealand left no stone unturned in their preparation for the 2019 World Cup and defied all odds to beat India comfortably in the warm-up game at the Oval. Trent Boult wreaked havoc for the Kiwis while Ravindra Jadeja made his presence unavoidable for the league stage with an emphatic fifty.
Boult proves his worth in gold
All the talk regarding the World Cup has been revolving around the batting-friendly pitches in England and the idea that teams with explosive batting stand a massive chance of winning has been blown out of proportion. Not many gave bowlers a chance to do well on such docile surfaces, but there was a small community who felt otherwise and would be satisfied by New Zealand’s outing, especially with Trent Boult.
It has become a cliché that India’s top-order is the most powerful in contemporary cricket, and New Zealand would have a challenge in crossing this hurdle. Although there was some help for the bowlers in the surface, 270 appeared to be a par score at the Oval. Trent Boult got the new ball to move and exploited the conditions brutally running through India’s top-order. It’s no less than a dream to keep the likes of Dhawan, Rohit and Kohli quiet and not only did Boult, on the back of immaculate control and lethal swing, turn that into a reality but also sent both the openers packing.
While figures of 4 for 33 runs in 6.2 overs might sound incredible in modern day cricket, it is not something new for the Kiwi. In matches played since 2015, Boult has chipped the most number of wickets with 137 scalps from a mere 69 games. Jasprit Bumrah’s inclusion in ODIs has been a revelation, but Boult still casts a bigger shadow in ODI cricket. Since his debut in January 2016, Bumrah has 85 wickets from 49 games while Boult has accounted for 98 in 51. With Britain expected to offer some help with the new ball, Boult will pose threat of a different kind in the tournament and a lot of New Zealand’s success will depend on the way he fares.
Jadeja’s success with the bat
India’s lower-order is easily one of the weakest among the top sides in the tournament and cannot be relied to churn out crucial runs - something that has become a mandate in contemporary cricket. Teams like England and Australia have great depth in their batting right till the fag end of the tail, but their Indian counterparts seem bereft of oomph.
That is where a certain Ravindra Jadeja comes into the picture. After the emergence of wrist-spinners in the Indian line-up, the likes of Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin were overlooked in the shorter formats. However, the Saurashtra man, with some accurate bowling and handy runs lower down the order, strengthened his case for a World Cup squad thanks to his emphatic performance in the ODI series against Australia.
The warm-up game served as a perfect platform for the southpaw to make his presence inevitable for the league games. And Jadeja grabbed it with both hands. The Indian top-order collapsed like ninepins against a deadly swing attack and were in dire need of some runs. Jadeja took guard when India were precariously placed at 81 for 6 inside 20 overs and led India’s fightback with a much-needed 50 to help his side get to a modest total of 179. With Jadeja capitalising with the bat, India can seriously ponder his inclusion in the playing XI when the competition starts, especially with Bhuvneshwar Kumar misfiring. Jadeja at eight would provide some stability to the tail but will India gamble with the southpaw ahead of Chahal? Well, if Bhuvneshwar’s struggle with the ball continues, it would make all the sense in the world to have Jadeja in the playing XI, even ahead of Chahal.
Williamson and Taylor binding the Kiwi middle-order
From Underdogs to Contenders is the perfect headline to describe New Zealand’s journey in this game. Prior to the match, one could have crystal glazed and predicted India beating the Kiwis by a massive margin, but it wasn’t to be. After restricting India to a modest total of 179, New Zealand needed to get the runs against the formidable Indian attack, which was well capable of defending such a small target.
The onus of scoring the runs was on Williamson and Taylor after New Zealand lost two wickets for 37 runs. Let me give you a heads-up, Taylor averages just over 84 in ODIs played in last one year while Williamson boasts of an average of 62.69 in England. These two hold the key and the partnership between them was always going to be crucial for New Zealand. The duo weathered the early storm and stitched a match-winning 114 runs stand between them.
New Zealand have one of the finest batsmen from the No. 3 spot to No. 5 in contemporary cricket. The likes of Taylor, Williamson and Latham render batting a joy to behold. With Latham unavailable for this game, Taylor and Williamson had to get the job done and the duo ensured they did most of the heavy lifting. The rest of the New Zealand batting looks a little unsteady and if they are eyeing to go a long way in this tournament, Williamson and Taylor will have to churn out big runs like the way did it against India.
They have immense experience and have bailed the team out from vulnerable situations time and again. Their success will only build a platform for others to capitalise on and the whole New Zealand batting revolves around these two.
