ICC World Cup 2019 | Had to ask a lot of questions against that world class batting lineup, says Matt Henry
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Matt Henry admitted that the Kiwi bowlers had to ask a lot of questions with probing deliveries to knock out the world-class batting lineup of India. Henry, who nicked off both the Indian openers, earned the Man of the Match award for his performance that led his team to the final at Lord’s.
Having set India a target of 240, it was obvious that New Zealand would have to pick early wickets if they were to restrict India. And, the Kiwi new-ball bowlers responded in style. While Henry removed Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, each for one, Trent Boult trapped Virat Kohli in front, also for one, as India collapsed to 5/3. But, Henry wasn’t done. His persistent line and length paid off again in the last ball of the first powerplay, removing Dinesh Karthik for six. India were reeling at 24/4 in 10 overs and the Kiwis were right on top.
“In the break, we talked about making sure we do the best we can and play the way we wanted to play. We started well with the ball and created a lot of pressure. We had to ask a lot of questions against that world-class batting line-up. We knew we had to create pressure against that batting line-up but we also knew that this was a difficult wicket to bat on and it was holding up a little bit. We knew if we could create a few early chances, anything could happen,” Henry said at the post-match presentation, reported Cricbuzz.
India inched forward from overs 11-20 with Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya playing some good cricket. But when Pant fell in the 23rd over and Pandya in the 31st - both to spinner Mitchell Santner - it seemed like the final nails in India’s coffin was being nailed in. However, Ravindra Jadeja’s clean hitting, anchored by the experience of MS Dhoni saw India resurrect the run chase, and for brief moments, looked like pulling off an improbable win. Henry admitted that he and the team were nervy but backed their ability to finish the job.
“Hardik and Dhoni, the way they batted with Jadeja to come in, we know they are world-class finishers. We needed to finish off well and get them out before it went too deep,” Henry said.
Indeed, they finished well, beating the highly favoured Indian side by 18 runs to book a place in their second successive World Cup final. The Man of the Match winner was pleased to lead his side through to the auspicious day at the Lord’s.
“Very special to earn ourselves a Lord's final, thanks to all the New Zealand supporters out there. We are looking forward to the final on Sunday,” Henry added.
