Former South African pacer Morne Morkel has backed New Zealand to lift 2021 t20 world cup Trophy Kane Williamson & Co will take on arch-rivals Australia in the final of the mega T20 tournament on Sunday. New Zealand has played excellent cricket in all three formats for the past decade. Despite winning the World Test Championship this year, New Zealand entered the 2021 T20 World Cup as an underdog. The Kiwis entered their maiden T20 World Cup final by defeating England by 5 wickets in the semi-finals.
Morkel said New Zealand have been exceptional in all three formats over the years.
“When the headlines were on India, Pakistan, England and Australia throughout the tournament, there was a little voice inside my head: ‘Wait, don’t forget about New Zealand. They are the current World Test champions, the last 50-over world champions. Cup finals and his white-ball cricket over the years has been exceptional,” Morkel wrote in his ICC column.
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New Zealand lost the 2015 ODI World Cup final to Australia and many cricket critics are predicting the same result for Sunday. Morkel, however, feels that New Zealand won’t mind who their opponents are in the final as they have a very organized side under Williamson.
“He’s street smart and organized and Kane Williamson is an inspirational leader.”
Morkel wrote, ‘New Zealand will not care who they play in the final.
Morkel further praised the New Zealand team and called them a focused unit with the ability to change gears at any time.
“They have already crossed a major hurdle and achieved one over England which shows they can handle the heat when it is on them.
“In the finals, it’s about getting down to the basics as much as possible. That group is really focused on the fundamentals, but it also has the ability to flick the switch into fifth gear and blow teams out of the water. Their focus is on preparing themselves.” Will be on doing and controlling what they can control,” he wrote.
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In the semi-final against England, New Zealand were on the backfoot for the most part of the game, but Daryl Mitchell played an inspiring innings to propel his team past the winning line.
Morkel spoke about New Zealand’s performance in the semi-finals and said that it was an opportunity for the newcomers to make a name for themselves on the big stage and Mitchell and Conway did the same.
“Chasing in the semifinals, you want your big guns to fire but when the Black Caps lost Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson, the hopes of a nation were on the shoulders of World Cup newcomers Daryl Mitchell and Devon Conway”
“On the big stage, it was an opportunity for him to make a name for himself in white-ball cricket, and he knew exactly what game he needed to play, curbing the noise and playing every ball to the best of his ability. That’s the important thing about T20. If a solid partnership can take the game deep and you have big hitters at the back end, anything is possible,” he wrote.
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