ICC World T20 - Pallekele to suit the Kiwis – (Part 1) –Opinion
New Zealand has an uphill task in terms of reaching the Semi Finals of the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 with some renewed confidence.
They managed to scrap a narrow one run win against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 in a T20 fixture, on a baking hot Chidambaram Stadium pitch in Chennai. The manner, in which they managed to restrict the best batting line up in the world in their own backyard, was a commendable effort.
Yet barring that win, New Zealand’s track record in all forms of cricket, let alone T20, has been abysmal to say the least. The fact that they are playing their Group Fixtures in Pallekele however, gives them a glimmer of hope. They are after all, a team which
had gained notoriety for historically fighting above their weight, when the chips are down.
Whenever New Zealand, as an opposition, has been taken lightly, they have outperformed with such conviction that most of their past failings are forgotten quickly by their critics. The team spirit that they exhibit, often leads to sensational victories.
Such victories tend to follow them, despite being dubbed as ‘underdogs’ in the lead up to any global tournament. The problem for the Black Caps this time around however, has been there conventional strength, which is considerably inferior to their opponents.
Yet chances of salvaging pride at the same time does loom high as their group fixtures would be played against teams like Pakistan and Bangladesh on a green top, up in the Kandy Hills.
The venue would be the Pallekele International Stadium, which boasts a lush green outfield, a seaming wicket, and a comparatively cooler climate as compared to the island’s coastal areas. These factors are welcoming signs for New Zealand, as they would feel
more at home. They also enjoyed this venue as happy memories of routing http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 by 110 runs in a World Cup fixture in the fifty-over format. That was a time, when New Zealand looked less fancied and meek, as compared to their opponents who were buoyant and
brimming with over confidence. It was also a time when the team came back from a drubbing against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747 in 2010, where they succumbed to a 4-0 defeat away from home.
The game would be most remembered for Pakistan’s blemishes rather than Ross Taylor’s brilliance according to many, but what is noteworthy was that their paces had managed to extract significant movement in that game and crushed the Pakistani batting line
up, which was in pursuit of 303 for victory. Bowling at Pallekele was a tranquil experience for the Kiwi bowlers, where plenty of deliveries were seen beating the bat. The immaculate line and lengths which were bowled, managed to stifle the run flow of the
South Asian side, which continued to play and miss. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/TG-Southee-c2659, who is playing in this tournament, was one of the highlights of that game as he managed to snare three wickets at a paltry economy rate of 3.12 in the eight overs that he had bowled. The experience
of bowling was similar to playing on wickets in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754, where there were plenty of opportunities to extract lateral movement, and beat the bat on a regular basis.
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