Chennai, Feb 7 (.) Of all the four Groups featuring a total of 20 teams of five each,
the Group D was billed as the most toughest taking into account the presence of three
heavyweights — New Zealand, South Africa and Afghanistan — making the knockouts
very tough.
In this context, in the Group where none of the teams had won the title on previous
occasion and chasing the dream of laying their hands on the elusive trophy, a well
balanced New Zealand opens their Men’s World Cup T20 campaign against well
oiled Afghanistan at the iconic M A Chidambaram stadium here tomorrow.
The day match beginning at 1100 hrs tomorrow under clear skies and bright sunshine
will be a humdinger of a contest with none of them being pushovers.
Canada and UAE are the other two teams that complete the group.
For the second time, the Black caps find themselves drawn against a pair of T20
heavyweights and will be seeking to avoid the fate they suffered in 2024 when they
paid dearly for defeats at the hands West Indies and Afghanistan.
It is against the latter that they kick off their campaign this time around keen to
avenge the defeat and start its campaign on a positive and winning note.
The Kiwis are no strangers to the Indian condition having acclimatised well following
completing their recent ODI and T20 tours.
The Kiwi batsmen are in good touch having bagged the ODI series but beaten 4-1 in
the T20Is.
Skipper Mitchell Santner leading a bunch of experienced cricketers will be leading
from the front with both bat and ball, with the team having batters like Gleen Phillips
while New Zealand certainly have the firepower to score big runs to overcome the bad
memories of 2024.
They consist of a fiery top order in Finn Allen and Tim Seifert, who had good outings
with the bat a few days back, and middle order musclemen in fearless hitters Glenn
Phillips and Darryl Mitchell.
With the Chepauk strip expected to traditionally favour the slow bowlers, Santner and
Ish Sodhi will be the key if the wickets retains its tradition in chekcig the opposition
run flow alongside a host of quicks led by tournament debutant Jacob Duffy.
And in Glenn Phillips, they have a fielder capable of taking screamers like few others
in the history of the game, making the Kiwis a well knit unit.
On the other hand, the Afghanistan led by Rashid Khan, known for pulling off upsets,
makes the group more tough and exciting.
They entered the last four in the orevious edition pipping top teams like Kiwis,Australia
and Bangladesh but faltered when it mattered most.
Keen to put that record straight, the spinner cum-batter Rashin Khan led team would
also be very keen to start its campaign on a rousing note by repeating the 2024 action.
The young and experienced side with enough firepower to take on the opposition will
be hoping for a redux in spin-friendly sub-continental conditions
Packed with experience and looking to build on their run to the semi-finals in 2024,
Afghanistan arrived with big ambitions and have come into the tournament in the
back of series victories over the West Indies and Zimbabwe in their last two T20I
bilateral series.
Two years ago, Rahmanullah Gurbaz finished as the top run-scorer in the tournament,
while Fazalhaq Farooqi topped the wicket tally.
In sub-continental conditions, it may be the spinners who have a bigger role to play
and between Rashid and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Afghanistan have two of the very best.
Add in Noor Ahmad and the ageless all-round skill of Mohammad Nabi, and Afghans
have plenty of potential matchwinners who have the capability to turn the contest
from any situation.
On the whole, a tough opener awaits both New Zealand and Afghanistan on the
morrow t the historic Chepauk Stadium.
. GV 1110