India and New Zealand on two ends of ladder leading to World T20
‘Honestly, even if you want to think of revenge, these guys [New Zealand team] are so nice, you can't get into that zone’ - Virat Kohli’s words ahead of India and New Zealand’s highlighted one of the most unlikely friendships that has changed the face of world sport.
But the contrasting state of affairs, with the WT20 kept in focus, is the matter of concern here.
What makes the Indian team special and, in fact, favourites ahead of all ICC tournaments is the fact that they are always in the mood to win. With Kohli being the face of the Indian brigade, the thirst for a win becomes all the more credible. On the other end, it’s New Zealand and their ‘good guys’ image that makes you happy when they win, but more often than not they’re reduced to the status of being dark horses. And they have no one but themselves to blame for that.
Ever since the World Cup semifinal debacle, India has been extra dedicated to forming a band of brothers who would bring home an accolade that the nation, a family that sticks together with the glue called cricket, has been long waiting for. And frankly, has been successful in it.
In the 16 T20Is played so far since their World Cup exit, India has lost only three matches. In six months, they have formed a strong squad and an impressive bench strength to fall back on. Even with their ace players injured or away, India has been able to perform dominantly over their opponents. Starting from the openers to the pacers, India have it all sorted and just have the last step of polishing to do. Imagine how strong the top-order that comprises of stars like KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli is. And an equally powerful bowling attack with the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya or even Navdeep Saini. Don’t forget the spinners - Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravindra Jadeja. They have even figured out their number 4- Shreyas Iyer, a major point of concern from the past year.
But this family’s long-distance friends are trying hard to fit in. Two different roads taken in the World Cup final led them to the same fate, in the end, those “45 minutes” and one Super Over is all it took. And now the two are fighting hard to not end up the same way in the WT20.
The first two T20Is, hosted at the Eden Park in Auckland, of the five-match series has been done and dusted giving us a clearer picture of the current scenario. Kohli’s Team India has registered one comfortable win and steamrolled the hosts in the second fixture. But, frankly, it was expected. Even if India end up whitewashing the Kiwis at their home, it won’t be a surprise. But it won’t be the same old reason for being out of touch for the hosts this time. If India played 14 T20I games since the 2019 World Cup leading up to before the start of the ongoing series, New Zealand had featured in eight.
But the fact that New Zealand had done nothing, or to be fair didn’t have the scope to do anything, with the focus on the T20 World Cup is the reason why I say India’s 2-0 lead over them ain’t surprising. While India, as already established, has recognized and managed its talents well, New Zealand are struggling to settle in even at home. Starting from injury woes to selection issues, the Kiwis lost a lot of time. And with this with series screaming the need of the hour for New Zealand to be tidying up for the WT20, it’s time they really do it.
Kane Williamson’s hip injury had coerced the team to carry on and play under the leadership of Tim Southee. Not that New Zealand performed poorly under Southee, but the squad composition was never given a priority even in victories. But the fact that Williamson has only captained two T20Is and only faced defeat in both shows how much underprepared the Kiwis are for the ICC tournament. If Southee were to lead the side in the T20 World Cup, the concern would’ve been rather different here. But this, the reality for New Zealand, matters more than any possibilities from the past or some for the future. A chunk of the Black Caps’ woes in the 2019 World Cup were due to their own mistakes, starting from the openers conundrum to the confusion surrounding whether or not to play Matt Henry.
This time the process hasn’t even started yet and, frankly, given the breakneck format that T20 is, no team will have the time to figure things out during the tournament. So whether or not the hosts win the series against India, they now need to show that they mean business. Hence, the groundwork has to begin now. More than the bowling department New Zealand need to figure out what the middle-order composition will be, a plan that will eventually help them form the top order and the tail end as well. The first step would be to form a team that stands up without the services of Trent Boult and then gets stronger once he’s back. The next steps, primarily getting Jimmy Neesham and Lockie Ferguson back, can only be taken only once the series is done and dusted.
All said and done, it’s not too late for New Zealand to buckle up and to brush up a strong side ahead of the main contest, that starts in October.
The don’ts for both teams here are quite contrasting here, as New Zealand needs to look a lot into its selection, while India requires to hold back a bit. Like the start of any project from scratch, New Zealand have to first make sure they analyse what’s feasible and what is not. Meanwhile, India has to try and not repeat the same mistakes as they did ahead of the 2019 World Cup.
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