Published: Mar 17, 2016, 04:57 PM (IST)
Edited: Mar 18, 2016, 10:11 AM (IST)
New Zealand must be in high spirits after stomping over India in the inaugural match at Nagpur of T20 World Cup 2016. They surprised the hosts by including three spinners in the playing XI, which turned out to be a gamble handsomely paid off. Their batting also managed to survive the Indian spin attack and post a fighting total on the scoreboard. But the pitch at Dharamsala is different from that of Nagpur’s turning track. Australia have had a mix set of matches recently with India whitewashing them at home and winning the series against South Africa and now losing the warm up match against West Indies despite Josh Hazlewood’s hat-trick. Dharamsala pitch is a batting paradise and it will be interesting if they make any changes in the squad. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Australia vs New Zealand, T20 World Cup 2016, Match 17 at Dharamsala
Top-Order: With an exception of the match against India, New Zealand’s top-order batsmen have been in a destructive form. At least one of them produce the fireworks which gives Kiwis an edge over opposition team. Martin Guptill continued his destructive nature scoring against Sri Lanka in warm-up match and started off the innings against the host with a six. Skipper Kane Williamson promoted himself as an opener and showed some class against England in the warm-up match scoring a half-century. He can play the role of an anchor giving other batsmen the license to hit the ball. Surprise package Colin Munro can take any team off their game with a flurry of boundaries. He manhandled an inexperienced Sri Lankan bowling attack in the warm-up game. The pitch of Dharamsala will help the batsmen which is a good news for their top-order.
Middle Order: The Kiwi middle order looks promising on paper. It’s a mix of experience and hard hitting. They played an One-Day International (ODI) series against Australia and ended up winning it by 2-1. Corey Anderson is the backbone of the middle-order stabilizing the innings when wickets are falling at regular wickets. Ross Taylor’s form is a big worry and there is a chance that he may not play against the Australians. Grant Elliott is yet another key player for New Zealand in the middle-order, who has the capability to knock the odd one out of the park and then accelerating in the ending stages. READ: Australia vs New Zealand T20 World Cup Match 17 at Dharamsala, Preview: Kiwis look to carry momentum
Mitchell Santner is the latest edition to their batting order who can stretch the score with his quickfire cameos. Luke Ronchi is an underrating batsman and can be lethal in the T20 format of the game. New Zealand’s batting goes deep with only 10th and 11th number batsman not able to play big shots. This is why they fearlessly go after the bowling from start to throw the opposition of their game.
Lower-Order and Bowling: Their lower order hasn’t been put to test yet. Though, it will be interesting to see what team Kane Williamson selects. Australians have always looked shaky against spin bowling. But Trent Boult’s record will force them to include him in the team. If they play with Nathan McCullum, the lower order batting gets affected. The lower-order doesn’t look impressive if Trent Boult is included in lieu of Nathan or leg spinner Ish Sodhi. Although, including Mitchell McClenaghan will add sharpness to both seam bowling and batting. READ: Australia vs New Zealand, T20 World Cup, Match 17 at Dharamsala: Australia’s likely XI
Kane Williamson is bound to take a gamble against Australia on whom to select and whom not to. Otherwise, the bowling has been fantastic for New Zealand bundling India under 20 overs. Mitchell Santner impressed everyone with his left arm bowling taking four wickets against the hosts. Adam Milne bowled at a brisk pace with spot-on line and length. Ish Sodhi taking the ball away from the right hand batsmen and forcing them to drive. Nathan McCullum’s economical bowling also restricts teams to post a big total and with Corey Anderson and Colin Munro chipping in with their medium-fast bowling attributes provides options for the team in case bowlers fail to deliver.
New Zealand’s likely XI: Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson(c), Colin Munro, Corey Anderson, Grant Elliott, Mitchell Santner, Luke Ronchi(wk), Nathan McCullum, Ish Sodhi, Adam Milne, Trent Boult.
(Arun Rawal, a reporter with CricketCountry is a daydreamer, movie buff and a cricket fanatic. He couldn’t play cricket so did the next best thing, writing for it, he loves to play the flick shot over square leg. P.S. Sachin is God!! His twitter handle is @ArunRawal93)
