NZ eye Super 8 berth, end to powerplay woes
New Zealand will look to address the frailties exposed by South Africa and reaffirm their status as title contenders by sealing a Super Eight berth when they face bottom-placed Canada in their final Group D fixture of the T20 World Cup here on Tuesday. Having played a five-match T20I series in India just before the World Cup, the Black Caps entered the tournament fairly acclimatised to subcontinental conditions. Comfortable wins against Afghanistan and the United Arab Emirates only strengthened their belief.
However, the Kiwis received a reality check against a formidable South African unit. The seven-wicket defeat exposed weaknesses in every department, particularly with the bat. New Zealand’s powerplay struggles have been a recurring concern, with early wickets disrupting momentum and leaving the middle order to do the repair work. Rachin Ravindra’s form is another big worry for the side as the all-rounder, who is a crucial cog in New Zealand’s top order, has failed to convert starts.
With the Super Eights approaching, the team management will hope he rediscovers his rhythm quickly. With the ball, New Zealand failed to make early inroads against South Africa. “We couldn’t quite get that sort of 200 total that we wanted to get to. I think we’ll put our hands up and say we weren’t as good as we could be with the ball as well,” New Zealand batter Darryl Mitchell said after the loss to South Africa. They will be without pace spearhead Lockie Ferguson, who has returned home for the birth of his first child.
Kyle Jamieson is likely to be slotted into the playing XI, while leg-spinner Ish Sodhi remains another tactical option. A victory guarantees them progression to the Super Eights. Canada, meanwhile, are battling struggles of their own. They have lost both their matches, against South Africa and the UAE, and sit at the bottom of the standings. A lack of competitive match exposure heading into the tournament has been evident in their performances. Adapting to the sub-continental conditions has also been difficult.
“We live in minus 50 degrees and only have three months a year to play cricket, we train indoors. Prior to coming to the World Cup, we were in Sri Lanka for a month last month. “So for us, it’s a bit difficult but this is not an excuse,” pacer Dilon Heyliger had said after the loss to UAE. Despite that, their spinners have done well and the North American team seemed to be in prime position to notch its first win, defending a modest 150-run total but poor bowling at the death cost them.
