World T20: BLACKCAPS Off To A Flyer
So many colours
Indians love their cricket and throughout the BLACKCAPS World T20 opener I found myself filled with envy - 'damn, I'd love to be there holding my phone up, going nuts at a big T20 game'. The crowd was typically fantastic but the best thing about this contest between the BLACKCAPS and India was silence, shocked silence. For all the mayhem in the stands, the up-beat music, dancing, cheering and general excitement, the tranquility of shocked silence stood out like a sore thumb.
The BLACKCAPS shocked India and to be frank, they shocked me. As I wrote yesterday, I wasn't confident and as the kiwis stuttered their way to 126 off their 20 overs, it wasn't looking good. With the bat, we struggled to deal with the slow pitch that offered value for the Indian bowlers' variety and change of pace while also helping bowlers like Ravi Jadeja - who tend to fire in darts - get plenty of spin.
Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson and Colin Munro combined for 21 runs and that Williamson scored at a strike-rate of 50 shows just how tough it was to score freely. Williamson's our best batsman and instead of stroking boundaries, lofting drives and doing Kaptain Kane things, he epitomised how hard it was to bat on this Nagpur pitch.
This is where part one of the selection masterstroke was visible, Luke Ronchi was batting at No.8 in a long and powerful batting line up. Corey Anderson simply knuckled down and did his best, not quite the usual swashbuckling whacking we've come to expect from Cozza but we saw a certain level of game understanding which meant he had to stick it out and do his job.
Between Anderson, Ross Taylor, Mitchell Santner, Grant Elliott and Ronchi, only Santner and Ronchi scored at a strike-rate over 100 as our lads simply tried to save the innings, precisely what you'd hope for with experienced players like Anderson, Taylor, Elliott and Ronchi. One shot from Taylor got me super duper excited as he opened the face to a leg-break delivery from Ravi Ashwin. Taylor saw the switch-up off the pitch and watched the ball like an eagle onto his bat. Experience and class are present in our middle order if things up top don't quite work out.
126 in T20 cricket is always dangerous. It's enough to make the chasing side try play shots in pursuit, but it also clouds the mind as it initially looks like a relatively easy chase. The kiwi spinners and the team in general would have noted the spin and pace of the pitch and been quietly confident, a quiet confidence that oozed out of their pores as they went to bowl.
Part two of the selection masterstroke. The extra batsmen helped the BLACKCAPS squeeze out a few more runs, batting out the full 20 overs and setting India a competitive total. Part two is that the BLACKCAPS had three spinners up their sleeves, two of whom the Indians wouldn't have seen much of and the OG Nathan McCullum.
McCullum is a specialist at opening the bowling, varying his pace and attacking the stumps. Santner's all about keeping it tight but on a pitch like this he also puts enough tweak on the ball to extract plenty of spin. Sodhi is a leg-spinner and leg-spinners will always be in with a sniff on turning pitches, which was visible in two of his wickets as he ripped a big leggy to catch India's best batsman Virat Kohli's edge and did the same past Ravi Ahswin's edge for Ronchi to stump the Indian spinner.
Sodhi finished with 3/18 off 4 overs. Santner was the pick of the bunch with 4/11 off 4 overs and McCullum had 2/15 off 3 overs. While Sodhi's leg-spin poses a threat and will always be tricky in these conditions, Santner's spin was an example of his endless potential as a cricketer. Santner plays lovely strokes, is a gun in the field and drifts the ball into right-handed batsmen in a reasonably gorgeous manner, Santner is class.
This is where those valuable runs by the middle order were crucial as they ensured that India still have to play their shots and they would have fancied their chances against Santner and Sodhi. Playing aggressive shots against spinners on a turning deck is dangerous and the young spinners pounced.
The BLACKCAPS may or may not encounter such a pitch again in this tournament, either way I love the look of this bowling attack. Corey Anderson offers left-arm swing, Adam Milne offers pace, Grant Elliott just does whatever is required of him and the all-round ability of Anderson, Elliott and Santner provides exceptional balance.
Individually, this game served up some special performances, especially for two young spinners who were up to their necks in an Indian cauldron. Despite the individual performances, the most impressive aspect of this win was Kane Williamson's captaincy which was visible in the mana of the team. Tactically Williamson was on fire and there's input from coach Mike Hesson, Ross Taylor etc that deserves praise as well, however the responsibility falls on the shoulders of Williamson and he delivered a funky playing 11, juggled his bowlers nicely and always looked ahead of the game in the field.
It's expect that Williamson is going to be a smart tactical operator, what wasn't expected was the vibe within this team (I'm not sure if mana only applies to individuals or a team, I like the team mana idea though). Quietly confident regardless of the situation and gritty, this BLACKCAPS team simply did what was required to win, after a poor start the middle order salvaged the innings and then the lads defended their work with more skill and desire than their opponents.