For the first time in this World Cup – in their seventh game against South Africa in Pune on Wednesday -- a sense of total inadequacy may have pervaded the New Zealand camp. Their bowlers couldn’t counter the firepower of the South African top six on a docile deck while their own batters wilted under the pressure of an imposing target. Not a lot had gone wrong for the Kiwis before the 190-run hammering, but they suddenly find themselves in a situation where they may have to win their last two games to progress to the semi-finals.
Otherwise, an anxious wait for other results to go in their favour may ensue. How has it come to this for a team that had won its first four games and was eyeing the top spot along with India just ten days ago?
Their dip may come across as a rapid unravelling, but their current position – fourth in the points table with four wins and three losses – is perhaps a more accurate reflection of how they measure up in these conditions. After all, their first four victories had come against England, Netherlands, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. We didn’t know then that England would go on to have a wretched tournament while their wins in the next three games were entirely along expected lines.
It’s in the last three matches that New Zealand’s sternest tests have come. Amid the serenity of the surroundings in Dharamsala, where they were based for a week, the results did not go their way. They lost to India by four wickets and suffered a five-run defeat in a steep chase of 389 against Australia. While they had their moments in both games, it’s their complete capitulation in Pune on Wednesday that should be a cause for concern. For the second successive game, New Zealand’s bowlers seemed to be short of ideas in the face of a big partnership. If it was David Warner and Travis Head who combined for a 175-run opening stand in Dharamsala, Quinton de Kock and Rassie van der Dussen stitched together a 200-run partnership for the second wicket in Pune.
{{/usCountry}}It’s in the last three matches that New Zealand’s sternest tests have come. Amid the serenity of the surroundings in Dharamsala, where they were based for a week, the results did not go their way. They lost to India by four wickets and suffered a five-run defeat in a steep chase of 389 against Australia. While they had their moments in both games, it’s their complete capitulation in Pune on Wednesday that should be a cause for concern. For the second successive game, New Zealand’s bowlers seemed to be short of ideas in the face of a big partnership. If it was David Warner and Travis Head who combined for a 175-run opening stand in Dharamsala, Quinton de Kock and Rassie van der Dussen stitched together a 200-run partnership for the second wicket in Pune.
{{/usCountry}}“Not our best performance. We were put under massive pressure by QDK and Rassie. To be five down early was disappointing with the way it panned out. I don’t think I’d bat first had there been another chance. It was a decent surface. If we’d restricted them to 330-340 it’d have been better. We weren’t able to capitalise with bat either,” New Zealand stand-in skipper Tom Latham said after the game.
If this is just the tip of the iceberg, it’s because the graver concern is a long injury list. Their dressing room has resembled a hospital ward in recent weeks due to a spate of injuries that has shown no sign of abating. The travails started before the World Cup, with an injury cloud hovering over their two most experienced players -- Kane Williamson and Tim Southee. While Williamson was able to recover from a knee injury to play their third match against Bangladesh, he fractured his left thumb in that very game. Southee, meanwhile, suffered a fractured right thumb even before the campaign began.
Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry and James Neesham have added to the concerns in the last two matches. While Ferguson injured his achilles against Australia, Henry hurt his right hamstring midway into his sixth over on Wednesday. Neesham came in and completed the over, only to himself cop a blow on his right wrist later in the game. Kyle Jamieson has been called in as cover for Henry. For a team that anyway isn’t brimming with a large pool of players, it’s far from an ideal position to be in.
“Injuries are adversities, got to see how they shape up. Small turnaround, so we got to reflect now and move on to Bangalore,” Latham added.
It’s against this backdrop that New Zealand face Pakistan in Bengaluru on Saturday. It’s the sort of situation that requires the Kiwis to stay true to their DNA.
“We try to remain level-headed throughout everything, not ride the highs too high and the lows too low. So, I think for us, it's going about our business as we've done the whole way through, just keeping things simple, sticking to what we do best. We know that we're fighters, we keep coming back time and time again and when it matters most, we really put the foot down,” New Zealand all-rounder Glenn Phillips told reporters on Wednesday.
That their level-headedness is in contrast to the chaos that Pakistan seemingly thrive under should be one of the many fascinating subplots of Saturday’s showdown.