New Zealand like always, have the man power

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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They now have the guy who scored the fastest ODI century and a bowler who can clock 150kmph. All they need is their ‘fairy consistent mother’ to smile on them. The last time India and New Zealand met in New Zealand for an ODI series, India cruised to a series victory. However, only 4 members (MS Dhoni, S Raina, Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma) from that team remain in this current Indian line-up. The New Zealand team has undergone quite a few changes too.

 

Series	Matches	Won	Lost	Tied	NR	Winner
India in New Zealand ODI series, 2008/09	5	3	1	0	1	India
India in New Zealand ODI series, 2002/03	7	2	5	0	0	New Zealand
India in New Zealand ODI series, 1998/99	5	2	2	0	1	Drawn
India in New Zealand ODI series, 1993/94	4	2	2	0	0	Drawn
India in New Zealand ODI series, 1980/81	2	0	2	0	0	New Zealand
India in New Zealand ODI series, 1975/76	2	0	2	0	0	New Zealand

 

	Matches	Won by India	Won by New Zealand	Tied	NR
Overall	88	46	37	0	5
In New Zealand	29	10	17	0	2

Yet their surprising tenacity towards mediocrity hasn’t changed. In more than 40 years of international cricket, they still haven’t had their time of dominance. They drew their last ODI series against West Indies and won the two T20s. From these games emerged two talking points; Corey Anderson’s century and Adam Milne’s fastest ball.

Corey Anderson’s innings was brilliant. It wasn’t blind slogging but proper cricket shots that got him to the world record. Unfortunately he mirrors NZ’s illness; inconsistency. Quite obviously as a cricketer he aims to perform in every match (unless you see him waving a towel around). He along with the whole country will be hoping he can replicate one good innings after another against India. Against the Indian attack which went for plenty on helpful South African wickets, he needs to score to avoid becoming another Shahid Afridi with the bat. With Ross Taylor, Brendon McCullum and Jesse Ryder providing the experience, New Zealand have a mix of aggressive and calm batsmen. It’s just a question of performing.

 

Player	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	0	4s	6s
R Taylor	16	16	2	577	107*	41.21	721	80.02	2	3	1	47	10
K Williamson	16	15	2	516	145*	39.69	630	81.9	1	3	1	48	2
M Guptill	14	14	3	494	189*	44.9	571	86.51	2	1	2	48	10
B McCullum	18	17	2	473	79	31.53	459	103.05	0	4	1	41	21
N McCullum	22	16	3	319	47	24.53	301	105.98	0	0	0	25	13
C Anderson	9	8	2	304	131*	50.66	204	149.01	1	0	0	23	21
J Ryder	4	4	0	168	104	42	120	140	1	0	1	21	5
L Ronchi	14	13	2	166	49	15.09	179	92.73	0	0	1	22	1
J Neesham	9	8	2	83	42*	13.83	104	79.8	0	0	2	9	0

Adam Milne threatens to dismantle any batting unit, let alone the Indian lineup. He has pace and excellent control. He’s got a pacy run-up with a whippy action which finishes tall. It was bounce and a bit of movement that did the Indian batsmen in the South African ODI series. Curators need to heed coach Mike Hesson’s plea and provide green tracks with good bounce. Head to head, NZ have the better attack. The better spinners might be Indians but alien conditions generally nullify the threat they pose.

 

Player	Mat	Inns	Overs	Mdns	Runs	Wkts	BBI	Ave	Econ	SR	4	5
M McClenaghan	18	18	150.1	4	862	43	5/58	20.04	5.74	20.9	4	1
K Mills	21	21	153.4	13	761	21	4/30	31.7	4.95	38.4	1	0
N McCullum	22	21	163	1	776	17	2/13	45.64	4.76	57.5	0	0
K Williamson	16	15	78.4	0	421	14	4/22	30.07	5.35	33.7	1	0
J Neesham	9	9	47.1	0	266	13	4/42	20.46	5.63	21.7	2	0
T Southee	10	10	84	10	419	10	3/34	41.9	4.98	50.4	0	0
C Anderson	9	8	48.5	3	284	9	4/40	31.55	5.81	32.5	1	0
A Milne	4	4	20	0	134	0	–	–	6.7	–	0	0

Once again, it’s a contest of the opposition bowlers versus the Indian batsmen. Even though India might end up winning, it’s going to be a hard fought series. 

Key players : Ross Taylor, Martin Guptill, Mitchell McClenaghan, Corey Anderson, Adam Milne

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