As we approached the return leg of this T20 tri-series, I was optimistic that we would see Aotearoa re-acquaint themselves with winning vibrations on home soil. With a win against England in Wellington, everything appeared to be honki-dory and right now everything is fairly honki-dory as the Blackcaps have waltzed into the final against Australia.

Waltzing into the final with one win from four games, waltzing into the final on the back of two losses. The strangest thing about this tri-series is that Aotearoa could win the final with a 2-3 record - we all know that what happens in the final is the single most important detail. 

It's not as though the Blackcaps played poorly in their losses to Australia and England, yet I'm definitely not going to get cute and celebrate performances in losses. Don't be distracted by the amount of runs scored at Eden Park, or that the Blackcaps didn't actually need to win the game vs England; they lost both games. However you want to spin this yarn, the Blackcaps have not been good enough to win games that they probably should have given how well they played as a team.

My vibe over the past two weeks has centred around seeing the Blackcaps under pressure, other than a zip-locked bag of the medicinal herb, that's all I've wanted to see this summer.

This tri-series has given us glimpses, which have highlighted a few areas of concern but the final is what really matters here as the Blackcaps have done enough to get there. The Blackcaps are severe underdogs who have lost their last two games and they don't have the T20 experience in a hectic environment like the Australian Big Bashers do, thus the stage is set for Aotearoa to flex their underdog muscles in stepping up when in matters most.

Dwelling too much on the batting side of things doesn't interest me all that much because this is all about the bowlers and which bowling attack can execute their plans the best. There is a wee bit of funk in the Blackcaps batting though as Mark Chapman and Tim Seifert will have their first dose of such an international experience, batting in the middle order where they will likely be tasked with scoring from ball tahi.

They are the most intriguing aspect of the batting, closely followed by Mitchell Santner if he is required to bat. Santner didn't play last time at Eden Park and is likely to come to the crease near the end of the innings when a strike-rate over 150 is ideal, which isn't Santner's strength. Right now I'm super low on Santner's ability to smack boundaries down the order and he's only had 1inns in this tri-series (1run @ 25sr), so he's not exactly riding the batting wave.

Whether it's Chapman, Seifert or Santner, the roles they play are just as important as Martin Guptill and Colin Munro. T20 cricket is just as much about smoking boundaries throughout the innings when new batsmen are coming to the crease and when the pressure is on at the end, as it is starting with a sizzle. We know what Ross Taylor and Colin de Grandhomme can do and their experience will be crucial, the funk sits with the two youngsters and a guy who I don't think is suited to his current job.

Wickets. Wickets. Wickets. Wiggly wickets.

Take wickets at Eden Park or lose. Small boundaries and a pitch that tends to be a slab of concrete (why is a good pitch for batsmen known as a 'good pitch' overall?) make restricting the flow of runs difficult, hence economy rates aren't that important at Eden Park. Restricting runs is best done by taking wickets; in the last 4ov at Eden Park, Australia took 4w and Aotearoa took 2w and Australia won.

Australia have three bowlers with 6+ wickets in the tri-series and they are all seamers (Andrew Tye, Billy Stanlake, Kane Richardson) and Aotearoa only have Trent Boult. 

It's also funky to note that Tye, Stanlake and Richardson do not play Test cricket for Australia and the only one of them who play in the recent ODI series vs England was Tye, who made his ODI debut. This perhaps the best example of the difference in selections and whether it's going to be Australia's T20 guns who prove to be more effective in returning to Eden Park, or whether it's Aotearoa's best seamers in general (Boult and Tim Southee) who emerge victorious.

One of Aotearoa's major T20 weapons hasn't exactly been a weapon either. Ish Sodhi took 1w in both of the recent losses, he didn't take a wicket over in Australia and funnily enough, the one game that Aotearoa have won, saw Sodhi take 2w. 

He was the most economical bowler in the Eden Park loss (8.75rpo - the only kiwi bowler to concede less than 10rpo) and his 7.75rpo vs England was lovely as well. Lovely, not overly threatening though and Sodhi's T20 status is built around taking wickets, which when Aotearoa can bank to 2+ wickets from Sodhi most games, puts them in a great position with new batsmen under pressure. Sodhi's tri-series average 34.75 isn't close to his career T20I average of 19.28, nor is his strike-rate of 22.5 balls vs 15.3 balls. 

I suspect Australia will happily chill on Sodhi and look to target the likes of Colin de Grandhomme (2w @ 57avg/10.52rpo) and even Mitchell Santner who has also been fairly mediocre with 2w @ 40.50avg/10.12rpo. Aotearoa will need Sodhi to take 2+ wickets if they are to put Australia under pressure, let alone win.

And this swings back around to seeing Aotearoa's players under pressure. The Blackcaps bowlers have played a large role in their losses during this tri-series and Sodhi/Santner will need to perform when it matters most, by taking wickets, if Aotearoa are to have a sniff of putting a lid on Australia's run-scoring.

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Peace and love 27.