Image Credit- AP
New Zealand is bustling beneath the massive Dhauladhar
mountain range, with the snow on the summits and ridges lit up by the sunset
sun. The most of the afternoon has been spent hustling.
Since being reduced to 19 for 2 in the ninth over,
Daryl Mitchell and Rachin Ravindra have zoomed out of their creases, raced
their twos, been alert to close singles, paused when the ball was fielded in
the ring, and zipped back to safety with each of their quick and electrifying
movements.
In this match, India only has five reliable bowlers,
and New Zealand intended to take one of them out. The spinners are the obvious
targets on a field that favours seamers, and between Ravindra Jadeja and
Kuldeep Yadav, Kuldeep is the softer player.
This is partially due to Kuldeep’s lack of experience;
Jadeja is now a seasoned veteran across all formats. This is partially due to
the known fragility of the wristspinner breed.
The greatest wristspinner of all time, Shane Warne,
frequently stated that a wristspinner’s primary goal should be to bowl a
decent-enough first over so that their captain will keep them on for a second.
Mitchell continually tries the reverse sweep against
the turn as New Zealand fights for advantage but it is still insufficient. But
out of the four times he tries it against Kuldeep, he loses on two of them.
That’s the point of the game, but when you’re looking
this hard, you miss some.
New Zealand is still triumphant in this conflict. From
his first four overs, Kuldeep has given away 35 runs. In the 31st over of the
inning, when he comes back on for a fifth, he concedes another 13.
I assume most captains would replace him at this
point.
India not. Kuldeep is kept on for two more overs
throughout this spell by Rohit. Kuldeep ought to have had Mitchell caught at
long off in the subsequent over, but Jasprit Bumrah slips up. Following that,
Kuldeep strikes Tom Latham with a blow to the front of the leg stump. It is
unclear whether this was a slider or a front-of-the-hand flipper because
wristspinners are a very enigmatic breed.
India’s pursuit was too seamless to believe, but New
Zealand’s total always appeared low. Black uniforms shooting like pinballs over
a mottled green outfield—about which England had complained a week earlier—that
New Zealand’s fielders had no trouble diving on—they would continue to hustle
far into the night.
Suryakumar Yadav was spectacularly run out by Mitchell
Santner, who may be the best fielder in this tournament thus far. Santner
backhanded the ball to spinner Trent Boult, who backhanded it to the
wicketkeeper while turning around in his own body. The play was so flawless
that it deserved to win the game.
no offence to India. Virat Kohli played such a lovely
innings that he had time to decline a single and pursue his massive 49th
century. This comes after the opening pair of Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill put
up a 71-run stand against players like Boult and Matt Henry, who have
historically been the finest opening duo.
On Sunday, India and their ocean of blue shirts were
scary. The next-best team in the competition so far, had a run at India missing
their key allrounder. By the end Kohli was turning down singles in his quest
for a hundred. No amount of hustle got New Zealand close.