What makes New Zealand such a dangerous team is how they adapt to different surfaces. They are accustomed to pace-friendly pitches back home, but even on typical pitches in the subcontinent, India have been on the receiving end on several occasions of late.
First, the New Zealanders achieved a clean sweep against India in the Test series in late 2024, and then beat them in the recent ODI series. The defeat in the ODIs was followed by a five-match T20I series, which is seen as a build-up to the T20 World Cup. Naturally, the Indian team management was nervous. Another blow at the hands of Mitchell Santner’s side could have been disastrous for the home side’s confidence.
Left-arm pacer Santner has been a major threat for India for a long time. In India’s opening match of the 2016 World Cup at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur, he picked 4/11 to bowl India out for 79 and give New Zealand a 47-run win. From the current squad, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah have been part of the starting XI.
To the delight of the local fans, the T20 side bowled New Zealand out in broad daylight, winning four of the five matches by a wide margin. A feature of dominance was the way the Indian batsmen were able to overcome the threat of the Kiwis in this 4-1 win. As a result of an impressive display by their players, India will go into the World Cup final with a psychological advantage over Santner and Co.
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Abhishek Sharma had set the tone with a 35-ball 84, and the introduction of Ishan Kishan gave India an extra boost in that bilateral series. In four matches, the left-hander Sharma has gone on to amass 215 runs, at an average of 53.75, with a strike rate of 231.18.
The highlight of India’s performance was Kishan’s batting in the T20I final at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram. After losing three matches in a row, the wily Santner bowled brilliantly in the fourth T20I in Visakhapatnam to reduce the deficit with a man of the match performance with three wickets (3/26).
However, the confidence gained by the New Zealanders was neutralized in spectacular fashion by Kishan. The diminutive batsman hit a blazing 43-ball 103 with 10 sixes at a strike rate of 239.53. Santner had forgettable numbers of 4-0-60-1 with an economy rate of 15, and finished as the game’s most expensive player.
Kishan was only supposed to be a reserve player at the start of the series. The hundred is where Kishan returned to the team.
Santner is a very smart operator and has every trick in the book. In this kind of performance, the New Zealand captain discovered that Kishan is unstoppable. He gets to the spinners by getting into position early and putting his foot on the ball pitch.
It is no secret that a high-order batter prefers the leg side more. In that game, Santner used all the tricks, even throwing the ball away from Kishan’s batting arc. But the batsman was out, passed through the crease, and hit the spinner towards the turn through the leg side. When the batter does this, it becomes impossible for the pitcher to hit.
In Sunday’s final, Santner will have to show he has recovered from that frustrating blow. Rasheen Ravindra, who has taken 11 wickets in his left-arm bowling, and off-spinner Cole McConchie, could also be in the line of fire.
In the World Cup, Kishan lived up to expectations with 263 runs in eight innings at a strike rate of 189.21. His best was 77 off 40 balls against Pakistan. He warmed up well for the final with an 18-ball 39 in the semi-final against England, setting the tone for the match with a partnership of 97 off 45 balls.
India have another powerful weapon against spin in Shivam Dube. The impact the left-handed batsman can have was also demonstrated in the semi-final against England at Wankhede Stadium. India promoted Dube to number four ahead of their regular middle-order batsmen to deal with the English spinners, especially leg-spinner Adil Rashid. Dube played his role well, scoring 43 (25b, 1×4, 4×6).
While Samson and Kishan were wreaking havoc during the first 10 overs, veteran spinner Rashid held his own with a spell of 2-0-13-1. In the second over, the leg-spinner made a breakthrough, forcing Kishan into errors.
However, when Rashid came to bowl for the third time, in the 12th over of the innings, Dubey dropped him for 15 runs with two sixes. India were 145/2 after 12 overs, with Rashid’s figures reading 3-0-28-1.
While New Zealand are expected to attack the struggling Abhishek Sharma early, the New Zealanders will have to be wary of being thrown out of their plans by the Indian left-handed strikers.
