Mitchell Hopes NZ Can Ride Wave Of Support As India’s ‘Second Favourite Team’
Bengaluru: All-rounder Daryl Mitchell said New Zealand will embrace their status as the “second favorite team” of Indian cricket fans as they aim to get through the tough Super Eight group and reach the semi-finals of the Twenty20 World Cup.
The 2021 finalists, who were eliminated in the group stage of the last tournament, find themselves facing two must-win games against former champions Sri Lanka and England following Saturday’s defeat to Pakistan.
“We consider ourselves the second favorite team in India and the support we get in the country is really great,” Mitchell told Reuters.
“Hopefully, when we play against India, we can change the sea of blue we are used to to black jerseys.”
New Zealand must overcome Colombo milestones when they first face Sri Lanka on Wednesday and England two days later; Mitchell is hopeful his team’s experience can come into play.
“We all grew up on fast, bouncy, fairway wickets in New Zealand,” he added.
“I think our band’s experience playing in these parts of the world for a few years helped us decide how we wanted to go about it.”
With one eye on New Zealand’s first World Cup trophy, Mitchell stressed the importance of focus.
“It would be really nice to get over the line and win a trophy, but there’s only so much cricket to be played until then,” the 34-year-old said.
“So the powerful thing for us is to stay in the moment. We don’t look too far ahead and make it bigger than it is.”
Mitchell, who has 1,856 T20 international runs in 100 matches since his debut in 2019, has settled into the finisher role, thanks mainly to the explosive form of openers Tim Seifert and Finn Allen.
“The ‘Bash Brothers’ did a great job at the top and that continued for a long time throughout the tournament. We realized the balance of our side here in India,” Mitchell said.
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“Power play is very important but the same goes for middle (overs), spin and death.
“From 10 overs onwards I have a finishing role, trying to read the situation of the game and adapt to it and try to help us win those moments at the back end of the innings.”
