http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625 World T20 - Pallekele to suit the Kiwis – (Part 2) –Opinion
Another factor that goes in favour of New Zealand is that, they would be playing two oppositions which are oozing with talent, yet are strangely unpredictable at the same time. Pakistan for example, is a side which is in sensational T20 form of late, yet
heavily banks on its bowling department to come up with the goods, instead of expecting their largely fragile batting order to fire. In the recently concluded Cool and Cool Cup T20 series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 in the Emirates, Pakistan managed to rout their opponents
with the ball convincingly, yet looked below par with the bat in each of the three matches. Several of their players such as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mohammad-Hafeez-c76898, are fallible against the new ball. Nazir for example, is known to execute rash shots early
on, which leads to his demise on more occasions than not. In addition, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755’s middle order is also susceptible to collapses in the T20 format, which opens up another corridor for the Kiwis to contemplate over and exploit accordingly.
Their other opposition is Bangladesh. The Tigers, as a team, have improved as a T20 unit and are currently ranked eighth in the ICC T20 rankings. They are known as a dangerous and unpredictable side, yet like Pakistan, they are also prone to occasional batting
collapses on wickets which have something in it for the bowlers. The team boasts an array of top quality stroke makers, yet at the same time lacks the maturity to seriously pose a significant threat to more formidable oppositions. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747 also relies heavily
on their spin attack to win them games, where the likes of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shakib-Al-Hasan-c89559 and Co. are expected to produce match winning spells out of the blue. The nature of the pitch however, may not help Bangladesh this time around as it is tailor made for seam bowling.
In addition, Bangladesh’s pace battery is virtually dry beyond http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Yasir-Arafat-c98241, in their squad.
Beating these oppositions can thus be considered as plausible for the Black Caps, if they are to progress beyond the Group Stages. Their pace battery may lack a genuine match winner such as Shane Bond, but bowlers like http://www.senore.com/Cricket/KD-Mills-c1781 and Southee could make a
grave impact on the proceedings. Even a player like http://www.senore.com/Cricket/JDP-Oram-c1681 could extract significant movement of the Pallekele track. In addition, the venue is also tailor made for New Zealand’s athleticism in the field, where diving on the synthetic grass on the ground,
would be far more pleasing, as compared to venues in Hambantota or Colombo, for example.
The emergence of Adam Milne as a pace prospect also gives http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 considerable amount of depth in their bowling department. The youngster was tipped to have a similar bowling action to Shane Bond, and can regularly clock speeds in excess of 140. His
presence along with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Doug-Bracewell-c1394 would provide the Kiwis with a formidable, if not threatening bowling attack that could do wonders on the Pallekele wicket, and wreak havoc on the opposition. Spin might also come into play, as the pitch has plenty of bounce,
which could bring players like http://www.senore.com/Cricket/DL-Vettori-c1384 into the game. Yet spin would become immaterial if one is to compare New Zealand’s spin department with their opponents, who have more variety and depth.
The Pallekele wicket and the pitch conditions would thus, suit New Zealand as they make their way towards progression beyond the Group Stages of the tournament. The margin for erring might be minimal, but Taylor’s men would be banking upon the conditions
and their tag of being ‘underdogs’, to perform well this time around.
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