There was an exciting fight between England and New Zealand in the last ODI World Cup final.
A match that anyone could have won. Now these two teams will face each other in the semi-finals of T20 World Cup. The players of both the teams are mature enough and I don’t think there will be any pressure on any team in that match. Both the teams will enter this match with a new mindset.
Although New Zealand players are part of in many leagues, England players have more experience playing in this format.
New Zealand’s team is the underdog in almost every ICC tournament. Their players play more freely. On many occasions, these players have been seen performing beyond their abilities. Their bowling is strong. Fast bowlers like Boult, Southee, Adam Milne, all-rounders like Neesham and superb spinners like Santner and Sodhi.
In fact it is a contest between New Zealand’s bowling and England’s batting. England has the advantage of more power-hitters in the team. The biggest challenge for New Zealand will be to restrict these power-hitters.
The truth is that even New Zealand bowlers solve their captain’s problems a lot. By the way, Kane Williamson is also a very settled captain. He proves to be a big weapon of the team on the basis of captaincy and batting. He has the ability to make good use of his resources in whatever conditions are there.
Saba Karim is a former cricketer who has played 34 ODIs as a wicketkeeper batsman for Team India. Views expressed are his own.