Every team wants to be the one that’s spoken of as era-defining; the one that is expected to lift World Cups, but New Zealand aren’t that team

Karthik Krishnaswamy03-Nov-2023You probably remember every twist of fate that befell New Zealand at Lord’s on July 14, 2019. If you’re a fan, the cosmic unfairness of that World Cup final is probably still with you, a colourless, odourless substance that burns your nostrils every time you breathe.Plucky New Zealand, unlucky New Zealand.You might not recall quite so vividly, though, all the luck that New Zealand enjoyed on their way to that final – or, indeed, the semi-finals. Their only wins in the league stage came against teams that ended up with fewer points than them – including three tight finishes that could have gone the other way – and they lost, by comfortable margins, to England and Australia, who finished above them, and to Pakistan, who ended up with the same points total. Their match against India, the table-toppers, was washed out. Pakistan had a washout too, but they might have had reason to view it as a point dropped against Sri Lanka rather than one gained.Plucky New Zealand, lucky New Zealand.Four years on, there’s a certain sense of déjà vu to how their World Cup campaign is unfolding. They began with a thumping win over England, when it wasn’t yet clear how bad England were, and then beat three teams they were expected to beat: Netherlands, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.Related

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The schedule, so kind to New Zealand until this point, then threw in their path, one after another, the tournament’s Big Three: India, Australia and South Africa. They lost all three games, along the way plunging ever deeper into an injury crisis, and now find themselves in another battle for fourth place, with Pakistan once again their nearest rivals.How good are New Zealand, then? Are they, as they appeared to be in the early weeks of this tournament, a title contender? Are they, as they have seemed since then, a merely above-average team who can’t match the quantity of outright match-winners who pepper the top three teams’ line-ups?The answer? Yes.Every team wants to be the one that’s spoken of as era-defining; the one that is expected to lift World Cups as a birthright; the one who, by not winning, exposes the flaws in the tournament’s design. New Zealand aren’t that team.You don’t have to be that team. In a tournament like this one, you can be the fourth-best team, closer in overall quality to the team in fifth than the one in third, and still go on to win the thing – or come within inches of doing so.New Zealand are happy to be the fourth-best team. In a way, they almost seem to welcome it. They’ve reached far too many World Cup finals over the last eight years to be considered anything other than world-class, but the fact that there are usually one or two teams who happen to be just a little bit better than them, man for man, or just a little bit more radical, tactically, almost gives them the license to play up the plucky underdog stereotype that they outgrew years ago.On Friday on the eve of New Zealand’s match against Pakistan at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, it was revealing just how often Daryl Mitchell peppered his press conference with allusions to a uniquely New Zealand way of playing cricket.Despite some brilliant fielding, New Zealand have dropped 16 catches so far, highest for a team in this competition•ICC/Getty ImagesInevitably, he was asked to elaborate on what he meant by a ‘BlackCaps’ way or ‘Kiwi’ way of playing the game.”That’s probably for you guys to work out and decide yourselves,” Mitchell said. “Look, we’re a small country, down the bottom of the earth, and for us it’s fighting for every ball, chasing every ball to the boundary, and doing the little things that we can control. The big stuff will look after itself if we’re clear on our roles, very detailed with how we go about our business, and you can work out our blueprint and our plan from that.”But yeah, we’re just very proud to represent our country and get stuck in the World Cup and you’ll see that by the passion and the way the guys throw themselves around out in the field.”Preparation, then, and desperation on the field. You’d think every team at this level ticks those boxes, but New Zealand beat them all to make it their entire identity.Mitchell’s words may be his alone, but they perhaps also reflect his team’s mentality going into Saturday’s game. New Zealand are probably aware that they’ve dropped more catches (16) than any other team in the competition so far, and that they have the fifth-worst chance conversion rate (71.4%) of any team. They probably feel that a doubling-down of stereotypically Kiwi virtues will do them no harm in their quest to reach the semi-finals.

“We’ll just keep playing like Black Caps and Kiwis do, and I’m sure we’ll come a long way to winning the game.”Daryl Mitchell, NZ allrounder

But here’s the thing. Pakistan (82.2%) have the second-best chance conversion rate in the tournament, and have dropped the second-fewest catches (8). England, desperately struggling England, have dropped even fewer (6), and have the third-best chance conversion rate (81.2%).There is no pattern here, and there usually isn’t, because – *cliche demolition klaxon* – catches really don’t win matches.Every team drops catches, and every team goes through streaks of catching everything that comes their way and streaks of letting everything slip, for no other reason than the vagaries of probability. Better bowling teams create more chances, offsetting the effects of some of them failing to stick. Good bowling stops far more runs than desperate chasing and diving do, and good batting creates far more runs than are saved on the field.It’s with ball and bat, primarily, that New Zealand will have to fight off Pakistan’s challenge on Saturday. Luck may well come into it – there is rain forecast in Bengaluru, and a washout would be entirely in New Zealand’s interests – but pluck? Every team has that.

He has been booed and abused in Ahmedabad and Hyderabad, and it might get worse at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on Monday

Sidharth Monga31-Mar-2024Footballers are apparently used to much worse, but Hardik Pandya might just be the first Indian cricketer facing sustained hostility from the crowds over a perceived misdeed. As a consequence of his move from Gujarat Titans to Mumbai Indians during the IPL off-season, Hardik has been abused by the partisan Gujarat crowd in Ahmedabad, booed by the neutral crowd of Hyderabad, and now faces the prospect of a partisan Mumbai crowd possibly not accepting him as their captain, and letting him know it.Hardik is an ambitious, one-of-a-kind Indian cricketer: a seam-bowling allrounder who is international standard at both disciplines when fit. It’s his ambition, in this case, that hasn’t sat well with the fans. It is fraught to look at fans as one homogenised unit, but still try to see it from Hardik’s point of view: some demand from him such lofty ideals as loyalty, some aim slurs with casteist connotations at him because of his dark skin and flamboyant appearance, some do both.There is no precedent in Indian cricket for such widespread hostility, so there is no manual for Hardik on how to deal with this interesting phase of his career.Related

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The BCCI should be thrilled that such intense loyalties have been formed even though the frequent auctions tend to end up discouraging those very connections between fans and players representing their cities. You can almost hear cash registers ringing every time you see evidence that those in Gujarat feel betrayed by a player who had come to them for an exorbitant price and went back for an undisclosed sum over that exorbitant price. That Mumbai fans feel their beloved captain (Rohit Sharma) has been usurped in a coup – despite his and his team’s mediocre run over the last three years. There can be no bigger reassurance that the IPL moves people.A lot of the outrage is performative – just for attention, notoriety, or even seemingly harmless laughs – but try telling that to cricketers who are so accustomed to getting love and adoration that it becomes a necessity for some of them. Also, just the sheer shock of it can be extreme because, as R Ashwin’s comments on the situation tend to suggest, cricket is still primarily an international sport. They see themselves first as India cricketers and then IPL franchise representatives.It can get to the toughest of them. It has got to those who are, or look and seem, tougher than Hardik. If you just look at the evidence on the surface, you’d think Hardik will sail through this. This is based on how agnostic to the result Hardik was after the thriller against Pakistan in Melbourne in the last T20 World Cup, in 2022. He had given a throwaway line about how he had got rid of the fear of failure, and I had asked him, almost sniggering, what he would have said if they had lost the match.6:16

Steven Smith: Didn’t expect Hardik Pandya to get booed in Hyderabad

“Even with three balls left, I told the boys: ‘even if we lose the game, it’s okay’,” Hardik had said. “I said I am proud the way we have fought in the game. We have been a team that has worked very hard individually, together, collectively. So even if we had lost the game, I would have still had a smile on my face and would have just said we gave it everything, and they were just good on that day.”Somewhere down the line, I have accepted the fact that this sport will give me ups and downs. The more ups I have the better, but even the downs I will cherish because failure teaches you a lot of things.”You wonder if Hardik will find it just as easy to philosophise setbacks now, given how fragile his body has been. When a seemingly manageable strain when trying to field a ball in your follow-through can put you out for six months, you have a lot of free time to question your philosophies. When you come back to such vitriol, it can rattle you.Hardik will probably be able to brush it off provided there is no heat on him inside the change room, selection meetings, and among former cricketers. But there, unfortunately, is some. The decision-makers are frustrated that he is simply not on the park enough. More than a few colleagues have privately questioned why Hardik stayed in the ‘A’ category of contracts despite playing such little cricket when two of his colleagues were denied retainers. Some of the vitriol from the pundits is almost like the closing of ranks by the veterans against someone who doesn’t fit into their template of an India cricketer. And it’s unsettling when casual fans start to talk about these very things.The only way for Hardik Pandya to win over the fans is to stay true to being his authentic self, and through performance•AP Photo / Mahesh KumarAfter Ahmedabad and Hyderabad, Hardik will now come to perhaps the most unforgiving crowd in India, at the Wankhede Stadium. There is no guarantee Hardik will be booed by the Mumbai Indians faithful, but the fans there do have a history of not sparing even Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli in the past.How Hardik reacts to this hostility can determine his and Mumbai Indians’ season. The association between a fan and a live performer remains largely incorruptible – even if there is elaborate public relations and/or stage management. Kohli can divide opinions, but at the stadium, it’s impossible not to connect with his limitless energy, his undying will to compete, and his ability to enjoy it all. You can’t fake it when competing hard in front of a live audience.The only way for Hardik to win over the fans in this period where his indifference to outcomes will be thoroughly tested, is to be his true self, and through performance. Just like a WWE wrestler in a heel phase (playing the bad guy), be so good at being bad that people begrudgingly, or perversely even, start liking you.

India’s besieged leader is discovering how much scrutiny there is of every move made by every captain who goes up against Bazball

Alagappan Muthu01-Feb-20241:27

Manjrekar on the lack of runs from Gill and Iyer

It cannot be a pleasant experience, going up against Bazball.Pat Cummins was essentially eviscerated when he deployed a deep point in the first over of the Ashes in 2023.”I must admit I’m not a huge fan,” Ricky Ponting said.”It feels a bit un-Australian,” Alastair Cook said.”They have been the first to blink,” Eoin Morgan said.At times, it feels like there is more judgment lashed out in the course of a Bazball Test than in a whole season of Real Housewives.India are the ones being picked apart right now, in a way that they really haven’t been for more than a decade of playing on their own turf. The weight of all that history is falling on Rohit Sharma’s shoulders. He has now lost as many Tests at home as his predecessor, except his ledger says seven matches in charge. Virat Kohli’s says 31.

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Jasprit Bumrah is getting serious reverse-swing.When he takes out Ben Duckett, India are asked to huddle up by their captain. A few moments previously they’d seen the big screen show that they’d made a mistake not going for DRS. Now it has been rectified. The batter who had been reprieved is gone. But Rohit wants to make sure his team seizes the opportunity. He refocuses them. The front of his trousers is stained red. He’s been the one taking care of the ball, keeping one side rough and the other shiny.Rohit Sharma got a lot right in Hyderabad, but the result amplified everything he got wrong•Associated PressAfter looking rather docile for 18 overs, India pick up two wickets in 2.1. It is their most electrifying passage of play and Rohit is a big part of it.He puts a lot of thought into his decisions. He keeps the field up to start the Test match and only after a few boundaries start flying does he ask for more cover. He tries to curb the threat of the sweep and reverse-sweep with in-out fields, having a man catching for the top edge and a man sweeping to stop the boundaries. He tries to enhance the threat of his two left-arm spinners and their natural variation by deploying them at the press box end, because the ball is keeping low from there. But he misses some stuff too.

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R Ashwin is in the middle of a lovely spell. He bowls a maiden to Ben Stokes, working him around the crease by varying his flight. The over – the 31st – ends with a generously tossed-up ball that is defended confidently. The next one begins in similar fashion, except this ball dips on the left-hander, rags past his outside edge and nearly has him out stumped. England are still trailing by 36 runs. Stokes falls in the course of this unrelenting examination.In this six-over spell, Ashwin bowls 27 dots, concedes 10 runs off the bat, and produces a false shot once every 3.14 deliveries. Rohit takes him out of the attack.Perhaps he reasons that with two right-handers now at the crease – Ollie Pope and Ben Foakes – his left-arm spinners might have a better chance of pressing the advantage. Except that isn’t how it turns out.The tea break comes and goes and Rohit still doesn’t turn to the bowlers who have, thus far, looked the most likely to take a wicket – Ashwin and Bumrah. It brings back memories of the Boxing Day Test in Centurion, where on the second day he had opted for Shardul Thakur and Prasidh Krishna to start proceedings after lunch and they gave away 42 runs in eight overs.

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There is a line between being bold and being rash and Stokes somehow keeps moving it for England. He keeps faith in Tom Hartley, sinking overs into him, even when he’s being hit around the park, because he is going to have to bowl again and he isn’t going to get better hidden away in the outfield.Zak Crawley got the same unflinching support and he repaid it with a phenomenal 189 in the Ashes. There’s pride in Stokes’ voice when he discusses his openers now. A smile tugs at his lips almost as if he’s picturing it all in his head. “Balls that Zak plays on the front foot, Duckett plays on the back foot. So it’s very tough, I think, for bowlers to settle into a rhythm and settle into a line or length against those two.”Nearly every punt Ben Stokes took in Hyderabad came off•Associated PressIts blue-sky thinking. And it keeps coming off. Ahead of this tour, Stokes looked at one of England’s most prolific run-getters and went, nah, you’re my allrounder. “When Rooty [Joe Root] walked off with four-for [in Hyderabad] I did say to him, “see, I told ya I’d make a bowler out of ya.”When success plays out in those terms, a captain doing the little things right, like helping take care of the cricket ball, starts to fade into the background.

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A lot of Rohit’s tenure, including in the white-ball formats, has been hampered by key players missing out due to injury. It was a point of such consternation that he brought it up when asked about a lack of ICC silverware when India were in the West Indies last year. He was annoyed that he didn’t have always have access to a full squad.Here, in this series, he’s been better at rolling with the punches. He’s everywhere at India’s first training session in Visakhapatnam. First, he’s batting. Then he peels his pads off and goes to study how the rest of his men are doing. He has a lot of time for Sarfaraz Khan and some last-minute advice for Yashasvi Jaiswal. He claps the bowlers on when they create opportunities. He doesn’t look like a guy who’s even the slightest bit unhappy with his situation.”After the [first] game, the atmosphere is absolutely relaxed,” KS Bharat says. “They just told us not to panic, which we are not. The instruction is very clear. It’s a long Test series, and we have played a lot of series like this in the past and we as individuals have to focus on good things and which we want to do in the coming games and everything is chill and relaxed. We are definitely looking to play good cricket as a team, that’s the message from the captain and the coach and we are very confident about it.”Stokes proved last week that a captain’s belief can sometimes be enough to compensate for his players’ inexperience. It could be Rohit’s turn this week.

He was nearly unplayable on some surfaces, made a strong case for catch of the tournament, and made useful contributions as a batter

Matt Roller30-Jun-20243:54

DP World Going Beyond Boundaries – Axar Patel

A spell of 2 for 23 in three overs. Hardly an uncommon set of figures in a T20 match but in the context of an innings of 176, there is an obvious question to ask: why only three overs? Keshav Maharaj took two wickets in his first over of Saturday’s T20 World Cup 2024 final and went at 7.66 runs per over, compared to an innings run rate of 8.80. But after the ninth over, he was not seen again.Maharaj bowled his full four-over allocation in each of his first six appearances at the World Cup, and might well have done the same in the semi-final if his team-mates had not rolled Afghanistan over for 56. And yet, in a final of fine margins, his fourth over went unused.The reason behind it was straightforward: it was because of Axar Patel.Related

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Axar had been deployed as a floater by India, making a vital 20 from No. 4 in a low-scoring game against Pakistan in the group stage. But it came as a surprise even to him when he was sent in ahead of Shivam Dube in the final: “Suddenly, Rahul [Dravid] asked me to pad up. I didn’t get to think anything about my batting and that worked for me,” he explained afterwards.The idea was simple enough. Axar was carded to bat at No. 8 and therefore the value on his wicket was relatively low. He rarely gets the chance to face many balls, and if India lost another quick wicket, at least they would have Dube, Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja to come. His promotion artificially lengthened their batting line-up.But it also ensured that Maharaj’s impact on the game would be limited, particularly when Axar played a shot that proved vital in the context of the final. Axar hit the first six of India’s innings when slog-sweeping Aiden Markram over midwicket, hitting with the wind, but in the following over, he played the same shot the breeze off Maharaj and cleared the boundary.In Markram’s eyes, it effectively rendered Maharaj unbowlable while India had a left-hander at the crease. This was not a case of blindly following match-ups, or the guiding principle that fingerspinners turning the ball into batters is high-risk: Markram took the gamble, and the on-field evidence suggested that even with the wind helping him, Maharaj was too vulnerable.Axar’s stand with Virat Kohli was the biggest of the final – and he dominated the partnership. They added 72 off 54 for the fourth wicket, of which Kohli’s contribution was 21 boundary-less runs off 23 balls; Axar hit 47 off 31, including a four and four sixes. Without Axar’s impetus, Kohli would have felt compelled to take more risks earlier: that would have made India more likely to reach 190, but would also have increased the chance of them folding for 140.

“This time, I felt that I had to do something good for India. Finally, I did it. I’m feeling so proud”Axar Patel

The slog-sweep was the defining shot of Axar’s innings, with another off Tabraiz Shamsi just about evading Kagiso Rabada’s sprawling dive at long-on. But this was not just a tailender promoted to have a swing: it was an innings of high skill, exemplified by his straight-bat, high-elbow on-drive for six off Rabada.Axar even timed his dismissal well, midway through the 14th over. Perhaps he was a little dozy when running through to the non-striker’s end, only for Quinton de Kock’s direct hit to find him short of his ground. But it meant Dube had the chance to impact the game from No. 6 and gave Kohli a free hand at attacking at the death without fear of failure, with Hardik and Jadeja still waiting.Few would have sincerely nominated Axar for Player of the Tournament, but he has been the sort of player that every champion team needs: a regular contributor with the versatility to be useful in all facets. He bowled dry on New York’s seaming pitches, took a stunning catch against Australia in St Lucia, and played this vital hand with the bat against South Africa in Barbados.Axar Patel gave the India innings some impetus in the final•Getty ImagesThat is not to forget his spell of 3 for 23 against England in the semi-final, a throwback to his performances against the same opposition in two Ahmedabad Tests in 2021. Axar is not the most talented player India have, but he is a master of working out how he can be effective in certain conditions: in Guyana, the turn and low bounce on offer made his straighter ball deadly.The final could have been very different for Axar. If South Africa had held their nerve with 30 needed off 30 balls or if Suryakumar Yadav’s foot had brushed the boundary cushion, his abiding memory of the final would have been his over to Heinrich Klaasen which cost 24 runs, including two huge sixes – one onto the roof, another into the pavilion. In a cricketing culture where idolisation turns into vilification overnight, Axar’s over would not have been forgotten in a hurry.And yet, for all the ignominy it involved, standing at the top of his mark and waiting for the ball to be fetched, perhaps that was when the final turned in India’s favour. The ball was retrieved from the stands, rather than replaced; barely two overs later, Jasprit Bumrah was getting it to reverse-swing. Maybe it would have done anyway, but it goes to show how fickle sport – and life – can be.”This time, I felt that I had to do something good for India,” Axar said in the moments after India’s victory. “Finally, I did it. I’m feeling so proud.” Kohli, Bumrah and Rohit Sharma rightly took the plaudits, but Axar was India’s unsung hero.

The tactical match-ups and strategies to watch out for in the Eliminator in Ahmedabad on Wednesday

Sidharth Monga21-May-20242:35

How can Ashwin and Chahal counter Patidar?

They were No. 1 and No. 10 just after the halfway stage of the league phase, but now Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have all the momentum coming into the Eliminator against Rajasthan Royals (RR). RR won the only league match between these two teams but a lot has changed since then: Virat Kohli is playing his best T20 cricket, the RCB bowlers are turning up, and RR have lost steam and Jos Buttler. Here are some tactical moves to watch out for in the Eliminator in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.Who replaces Buttler?Of all the teams in the playoffs, RR have been the most old-fashioned, almost like vintage CSK. Their batters prefer to take their time before hitting out, and their bowlers have covered for them, at least in the first half of the season. They are the fifth-slowest scoring team, but second best when it comes to bowling economy. So they should keep an overseas slot open for either the fast bowler Nandre Burger or left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj to back their strength. Especially since Burger had success in the previous match against RCB, and Maharaj’s bowling style is more effective than others against Kohli despite a stellar IPL.Tom Kohler-Cadmore appears to be a direct replacement for Buttler, but he has batted more at No. 3 and 4 than as an opener. So if RR bat first, they can bring in Kohler-Cadmore in case of early wickets, and otherwise follow through with their extra-bowler plan. If they end up bowling first, they can start with three overseas players – Boult, Burger/Maharaj, Powell/Hetmyer – and decide if they need the extra bowler or batter.An out-of-the-box idea is to open with Yashasvi Jaiswal and R Ashwin, not to pinch-hit but to bat properly and set up the innings for the middle order.Related

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Bowl Ashwin in the powerplayTrent Boult might not be taking wickets of late, but he has to open the bowling not least because he enjoys good match-ups against Faf du Plessis, Rajat Patidar and Glenn Maxwell.Kohli is in the T20 form of his life and he has been enjoying left-arm pace. His match-up against Ashwin, though, is tantalising. Throughout their long T20 careers, they have respected each other: Kohli doesn’t take risks against Ashwin, who doesn’t go searching for a wicket against Kohli. It is worth asking this new version of Kohli to chance his arm against the unerring Ashwin. He also enjoys good match-ups against du Plessis and Patidar despite them being right-hand batters.Avesh, Sandeep for deathYuzvendra Chahal has a good record against du Plessis, Kohli and Dinesh Karthik, but Maxwell and Cameron Green have both been good against the two RR spinners. Looking at that, RR might not save an over from Chahal for the death, and go with the pace of Avesh Khan and Sandeep Sharma instead.RCB will want one of Maxwell and Green at the wicket for the last 10 overs and should look to split the two as they did in the last match, when Green batted at No. 4 and Maxwell No. 6.Maxwell to open; Dayal vs JaiswalYashasvi Jaiswal has a good record against Maxwell but 20 balls is a small sample size. Given RR are the third-slowest side in the powerplay this IPL, it is never a bad time to get in a couple of cheap overs from a part-timer.If Maxwell can bowl tightly, it opens a window for Yash Dayal to go searching with the new ball. Dayal should bowl ahead of Mohammed Siraj because he has got Jaiswal out twice in 12 balls for 11 runs. An early wicket or two can challenge RR’s plan of playing the extra bowler as Impact Player.Siraj for SamsonOpening the bowling with Dayal and Maxwell gives RCB with the option of going to Mohammed Siraj when Sanju Samson comes out to bat: he has got the RR captain out three times in 31 balls.Lockie Ferguson, who has been used in the second half of the innings by RCB, will play a key role when Shimron Hetmeyer or Rovman Powell bat. He enjoys a good match-up against Hetmeyer: 25 balls, 26 runs, one wicket.Win the toss and?The new ball moved around in Qualifier 1 and there was dew later on so the team that wins the toss would want to chase. RCB have a 50% win-loss ratio while batting first and chasing, but RR have done better when chasing, winning six and losing two. They have failed to defend a target three times out of five.

England slipped to a 2-1 series defeat in Pakistan but are already looking ahead to New Zealand. Alan, Miller and Vish discuss the fallout, and preview the West Indies white-ball tour

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Oct-2024England were sent spinning to defeat in Rawalpindi, as Pakistan completed their comeback to take the series 2-1. But England have stuck with much the same group of players for next month’s tour of New Zealand. On the podcast, Alan Gardner was joined by Andrew Miller, Vithushan Ehantharajah and, from Pakistan, Matt Roller to discuss the fallout from only the second series defeat for Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum – and also look ahead to the white-ball series starting in the Caribbean this week. Topics included Ollie Pope’s place in the side, Ben Stokes’ captaincy and a Test call-up for Jacob Bethell.