India Gear Up To Defend Title Against New Zealand
Ahmedabad: More than a billion pairs of eyes are at play. Eleven men are tasked with winning one last match to excite a cricket-mad nation. The pressure will be immense when Suryakumar Yadav and his mates in blue set out to defend their T20 World Cup title against New Zealand at the massive Narendra Modi Stadium here on Sunday night.
The teams had opposite runs until the final. India lost just one match in the tournament, New Zealand two. The home side had an early scare against South Africa and then won all their matches in the Super Eight before scoring enough runs against England in the semi-final to eventually come close.
Meanwhile, the Kiwis sneaked into the semi-finals with a better run rate and then broke the whip against all-winners South Africa to inflict their first defeat in the semi-final – an outright defeat. Chasing 169 in under 13 overs for the loss of just one wicket must have been very good for their confidence as openers Tim Seifert and 33-ball captain Finn Allen literally shut out the South Africans.
With the Ahmedabad wicket ready to help the batsmen, they would be licking their lips hoping for another treat. The duo became the top scorers for New Zealand in this tournament. Allen is the third-leading scorer in the current Cup with 289 runs in seven innings.
The Black Caps’ batting line-up also includes big hitters who can hit the ball long distance. Glenn Phillips, Cole McConchie, Mark Chapman and Daryl Mitchell are dangerous floaters in the rankings. There is also Rachin Ravindra, who has made versatile contributions. The left-arm spinner has 11 wickets, the third highest so far in the tournament, and he has performed well with the bat, averaging 32 wickets.
New Zealand bowling will also revolve around Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson and skipper Mitchell Santner. They will have to contend with India’s firepower. Sanju Samson turned over a new leaf and scripted the team’s previous two wins. He is also a quick scorer and has the second-best strike rate among batsmen at 201.73, behind New Zealand’s Allen (203.52). Ishan Kishan, Surya, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya and Tilak Varma also performed well and were among the entries.
However, questions are swirling around Abhishek Sharma’s place in the team after the ‘explosive’ opener appeared to have lost touch with the transition. Same thing with mysterious spinner Varun Chakravarthy, whose color has cooled off lately. The 34-year-old conceded four overs of 64 and 40 in the last two matches, despite being the tournament’s highest wicket-taker with 13 to his name.
Therefore, skipper Surya will once again turn to the great Jasprit Bumrah and pace partner Arshdeep Singh before investing in Axar Patel, Pandya and Dube to apply the brakes in the middle.
Sunday’s match will be the third time the two teams will meet in the ICC final. The first was at the 2021 World Test Championship in England, which New Zealand won. India avenged last year’s defeat in the Champions Trophy in Dubai. The Ahmedabad match also makes them the first teams to clash in the finals of Test, ODI and T20 formats.
But India has bad memories of this land. The last time they played in an ICC final here (2023 ODI World Cup), they were brushed aside by Australia, who won with six wickets and seven overs to spare. This time they’re facing their neighbors Down Under.
