BLACKCAPS Hosting Pakistan - T20 Digest
Happy dayz
Two games into this T20 series and we have seen either side of the coin. Pakistan got off to a hot start in Auckland, while the BLACKCAPS countered that onslaught with a record-breaking win in Hamilton a few days later. This sets up a huge game on Friday, any decider offers more intesity, more pressue and more funk, which we love.
Most people would have picked Pakistan to warm into their work, or worst still they would have picked the BLACKCAPS to wipe the floor with Pakistan. This is what made the first T20 at Eden Park such an enjoyable spectacle as Pakistan showed a ruthless discipline in picking apart the kiwi bowlers and batsmen, along with displaying the benefits of experience, especially in such a hostile format like T20 cricket.
Pakistan played a near-perfect T20 game in Auckland, led my Mohammad Hafeez's 61 off 47 at the top of the order. I was rather surprised by Hafeez's innings as most foreign batsmen tend to need some time to adapt to kiwi conditions, especially at Eden Park where the dimensions are horrible. Hafeez stroked the ball around with ease, hitting gaps, slicing and dicing before Pakistan's middle order did the trick.
T20 cricket is all about how many runs you can score off as few balls as possible and Pakistan were efficient; Malik 20 off 18, Akmal 24 off 14, Afridi 23 off 8 and Wasim 18 off 9.
The BLACKCAPS' middle order were the opposite; Anderson 0 off 2, Elliott 3 off 5, Ronchi 0 off 4, Santner 0 off 4 and Astle 1 off 5.
No matter how good your start is - Colin Munro's 56 off 27 was an exceptional start - you need your middle order to chip in quick runs and the kiwi middle order looked like fish out of water.
And we still don't know what sort of 'nick they are in as Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson chased down Pakistan's 169 to win with ease, finishing with 171 off 17.4 overs.
Two vastly different batting performances from the BLACKCAPS and two fairly similar bowling performances, two fairly impressive bowling performances at that. Restricting Pakistan to 171 and 168 is a sound effort, about par in T20 cricket with anything up near 200 runs always tricky to chase. Here's some bowling notes...
Mitchell McClenaghan is one of, if not our best limited overs bowler. 2/23 off 4 overs in the second T20 with the key wickets of Shoaib Malik and Imad Wasim, McClenaghan was the most economical kiwi bowler by quite some margin, conceding 5.75 runs an over.
McClenaghan's wickets vs runs crown now falls on Adam Milne's head. Milne took 4/37 in the first T20 followed by 1/37 in the second, going for 9.25 runs an over in either game. When Milne is taking 4 wickets with his pace and bounce, everything is swell however Milne's only real variation is a slower-ball that he uses sparingly/wisely. Milne will need to show more than just quick stuff if he's to pose a consistent threat; many batsmen prefer to swing at 145km/h deliveries than 135km/h deliveries and if Milne misses his length, the ball can easily fly.
I really want to see Milne focus on yorkers and bouncers. Fast yorkers won't get hit for six.
Grant Elliott simply has to bowl his 4 overs, which could be at the expense of a spinner, Todd Astle in this case. Elliott didn't bowl in the first T20 and took 1/36 in the second while Astle managed 0/28 off 3 overs and 0/13 off a single over. Elliott has shown himself to be difficult to get away and he'll play a key role with the ball in the decider, unless the BLACKCAPS are keeping him on ice for the World T20 where secrets will be important.
We haven't seen much from Astle with bat or ball, however it does feel as though he's perfectly suited to T20 cricket. Astle fires leggies in and if picked for the decider, I'm sure he would have learnt from the first two, plus he's a livewire in the field and can do a job with the bat. This package where a player is good in all facets is crucial in T20 cricket, especially when you're trying to save every damn run or need your tail to get 30 off 12 balls.
Don't sleep on Santner, who has gone about his business nicely with 2/14 off 4 overs and 1/29 off 3.
My ideal bowling line up would be: Matt Henry, Milne, McClenaghan, Anderson, Santner and Elliott. Options and variety yo.
Two Pakistanis who have caught my eye are Imad Wasim and Umar Akmal. Wasim played some glorious shots in his short knock in Auckland while his left-arm spin is accurate and nicely paced, zoning in on off/middle stump, cramping the batsman.
Akmal is a strange character who feels like he hasn't quite delivered on his obvious talent, we have however been shown what Akmal can do with 24 off 14 (strike-rate of 171.42) and 56 off 43 (207.4). He's in form and will be a crucial wicket in the decider, although I'm more excited about seeing Akmal in the World T20 where he could be one of the must-watch batsmen.
Picking a winner, or trying to predict how things will go in this decider is very tricky as we have seen two games where either team has dominated. We do know for sure that Pakistan are a very good T20 team, headlined by their ability to hit boundaries, consistently deliver yorkers and execute a simple game plan. How the BLACKCAPS respond in crunch time will tell us a lot about this team and what we can expect at the World T20.