The playing environment in New Zealand with India is almost the exact opposite as India is playing Pakistan. When India and New Zealand play, the atmosphere is usually underestimated. There’s a little no-no hype. Toxic hyper-nationalism is replaced by mutual respect in the fields and fans turn from slurs to gentle jokes.
If you look at the statistics of World Cup matches, the opposite could not be more apparent.
India had not lost to Pakistan for 29 years until their recent crash and burn in Dubai, but against New Zealand, Boots is second.
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Overall, India have played against New Zealand eight times in the 50-over World Cup, and have won only three of these competitions. They last defeated New Zealand in the 2003 World Cup, and lost three of their last four World Cup appearances against the same team.
India and New Zealand have met twice in the Men’s Twenty20 World Cup and New Zealand has won both times.
In 2007, at the Wanderers in Johannesburg, New Zealand batted first and kept 190 on the board. Brendon McCullum provided the momentum at the top of the order and Craig McMillan scored 44 runs off 35 balls.
In reply, India got off to a good start, scoring 76 for no loss, Gautam Gambhir making 51 and Virender Sehwag making 40. But Dan Vettori then pulled things back with 4 for 20 and India fell short by 10 runs.
In 2016 at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur, New Zealand managed only 126, with all of India’s bowlers tricked out to restrict the opposition.
But India’s top order was reduced to 43 for 7, Mitchell Santner took 4 for 11 and Ish Sodhi took 3 for 18, and also took 30 runs from Mahendra Singh Dhoni to take India to 79 and a Got a crushing defeat.
When India and New Zealand play again at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on 31 October, many are pitching the game as a quarter-final for India.
It’s an incredibly dangerous approach, and Virat Kohli and his team will know it’s only the second game of their campaign.
The assumption of the India-New Zealand match being declared a semi-final is that both India and Pakistan will beat Afghanistan, Scotland and Namibia.
This is not only tempting luck, but it is a disrespect to three very good Twenty20 outfits, especially Afghanistan, who would be a handful in these circumstances.
There are plenty of mystery spinners in Afghanistan and batsmen who don’t need to be fearless twice.
But, back to New Zealand.
Led by Kane Williamson, who neither sweats in the scorching heat nor suffers from high blood pressure when the atmosphere charges, New Zealand will know that India has all the running to do in that match.
India’s sweeping defeat against Pakistan, and the way Shaheen Shah Afridi shines a magnifying glass on the Indian top-order, has set a blueprint for New Zealand, even if they don’t really need it.
Trent Boult swings the ball back with just as much accuracy and skill as anyone else in the world, and even if he doesn’t have Afridi’s pace, he’ll be sure to ask questions.
Boult’s partner in crime, Tim Southee, has extensive experience in Twenty20 cricket, both international and domestic, and is always looking to add new tricks to his game.
In Mitch Santner, New Zealand have exactly the kind of left-arm spinners that India’s batsmen dislike. A tall man, he has a high release point and throws the ball into the batsmen, giving them little chance to free their arms. What’s more, Santner is accurate, which means there will be no free hits and India will have to take a few chances to hit big shots against him.
For India, coming together as a team will be the key things during the New Zealand match. While all players have cricket in their stomach after completing the Indian Premier League in UAE, now they need to come together as a unit.
Kohli also needs to ask himself what is India’s best combination even if he decides to give the current one another chance to come good. Ishan Kishan is a potential replacement in place of Hardik Pandya, who is in poor shape in the middle. But Pandya has the full support of his captain and the fact that he has resumed bowling will only work in his favor.
Another possible change that Kohli can consider is to look for an ax for Shardul Thakur. He definitely has wicket-taking abilities, endless optimism and brings some real punch down the order.
Kohli will have a lot to think about when they take on New Zealand, but the virtual quarter-final match is not one of them.
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