India versus New Zealand doesn’t ring as loud a bell for cricket fans as it does for an India-Pakistan or an India-Australia clash. But the fact is New Zealand has been India’s bogey team in World Cups over the last five decades.
No wonder then that it will be a challenging task for Virat Kohli’s men on Sunday to overcome the Black Caps, open its account and avoid its ICC T20 World Cup campaign from derailing.
Three on eight
Ever since the inaugural men’s World Cup in 1975, India has managed to beat the Kiwis only three times in eight meetings, with the last victory being in 2003. The only time the two teams took each other on since then, Kane Williamson’s wily pacers floored India in the World Cup 2019 semifinal.
As for the T20 World Cup, the two teams have met only twice. M.S. Dhoni’s men first faltered in the inaugural edition in South Africa and suffered a reverse during the last edition on home soil in 2016.
With Dhoni having switched into a mentor’s role, no Indian squad member would need to be reminded of its mediocre record against one of the most under-rated teams in World championships.
New Zealand has a knack of optimising its potential in World Cups. The expertise and squad members’ camaraderie invariably come to the fore when it matters the most. Naturally, despite its loss to Pakistan in the tournament-opener, New Zealand will continue to pose as big a threat to India as it has done earlier.
India too has been doing its bit to enhance the team-bonding after all the squad members were scattered representing their respective IPL franchises in the build-up to the tournament. Having trained at the ICC Academy just once since their loss to Pakistan on Sunday, India’s cricketers were involved in a session of beach volleyball on Friday.
Right combination
Relaxing against a must-win tie isn’t a bad way. But more than getting their volleys together, India will be first hoping to get its combination right and then be backing the unit to fire on all cylinders.
Will the Black Caps syndrome strike yet again on India? Or will Kohli’s cavaliers take a cue from their Pakistan counterparts and register India’s maiden win against New Zealand in a T20 World Cup?
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