There is no aura around this New Zealand team. Nothing is legendary about them. It’s like a bunch of boys chasing a dream, a big World Cup dream. They have been at this stage before, six times in all. Semi-finals of World Cup are nothing new for the Black Caps but this time they have the best chance.
Coming into the semi-final, the Brendon McCullum-led unit have had some brilliant performances. Right from the start of the tournament when they faced Sri Lanka in their first match, everything ticked for them. Bowlers rattled the batting of the opposition and batsmen made runs with utmost ease It’s been a boring repeat of the same since then.
One wonders who are the players who have not performed for them till now? Everyone has, in one match or the other. Individual performances are all New Zealand are about. But there is something more than that to this team. Against West Indies, a ball hit Marlon Samuels’ bat and it went over slips cordon and was racing. Five fielders chased it down with same intensity. It showed the spirit of the team and a fire in them to put in the extra effort for the team. It was a quarter-final and New Zealand had posted 393 on the board. Given the form of their bowlers, they shouldn’t have bothered about an edge that would have gone for a lucky boundary. But it mattered. They wanted to dominate, and make the opposition earn runs and wickets.
Right at the start of a match, New Zealand look like a team of great commitment. During team huddles, they bubble with energy and send out very positive vibes. Nothing seems different with them but they are a different team than all the previous ones.
Martin Crowe and Stephen Fleming were great leaders but they could not win a knockout match. New Zealand won their first knockout match in World Cup in 2011 against South Africa, a team which has poor knockout record as them. McCullum and his team have all the boxes checked to advance to what will be their biggest match. But can they? They have a few questions to answer. After McCullum, can the other batsmen fire? What if Trent Boult and Tim Southee fail? Can this team chase?
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