Playoffs looming for unbeaten Black Caps
them from group 2 after the hosts roared back from being spun out for 79 by the men in black, cruising to a six-wicket victory over Pakistan at a heaving Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
On another dry, treacherous, turning pitch, Pakistan were clueless against India’s pace and spin as they were shot out for 118 in 18 overs, before master batsman Virat Kohli showed more application than in Nagpur as his unbeaten 55 guided them home with 25 balls to spare.
Wednesday’s will be the first tournament match played at Mohali, about 250km south of Dharamsala where the Black Caps beat Australia by eight runs defending 142-8. It’s expected there will be more turn and headaches for the batsmen, with India and Australia set to meet there in the final group match next Monday.
‘‘We’ve got a really wellrounded squad whatever conditions we get thrown, and we’re confident management and Kane [Williamson] will make the right decisions,’’ said Friday’s man of the match Mitchell McClenaghan.
Notably senior swing duo Tim Southee and Trent Boult missed the first two matches and it’s hard to see them featuring at all this tournament, given the pitches on show.
New Zealand assessed the situation better than Australia in Dharamsala and it helped Williamson won an important toss for a second straight match, which enabled spinners Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi to prosper on an increasingly tricky, turning pitch. Australia played three frontline spinners but Ashton Agar and Adam Zampa bowled just one over each, while the Black Caps omitted Nathan McCullum and surprisingly summoned McClenaghan who used the abrasive, slow surface expertly with his change-ups and cutters.
‘‘It’s hard to score on wickets that are turning, and if teams have good quality spinners it’s always going to be hard to score in the middle. It’s something we’re probably not used to, and I’m sure Australia aren’t as well. It’s the team that can adapt fastest to the conditions, and just assess the wicket quicker I guess.’’
Pakistan have an imposing, well rounded bowling attack but their batting again has question marks.
New Zealand haven’t been world-beaters with the bat either, but have confidence and momentum backed by some canny Williamson captaincy and slick fielding.
Bangladesh are always dangerous but suffered a hefty blow at the weekend with two of their best bowlers, left-arm spinner Arafat Sunny and lively seamer Taskin Ahmed, banned for suspect actions.