New Zealand trio holds nerve at the death
New Zealand have enjoyed a commendable run of form in the Twenty20 International format, and retained their No.4 position in the latest MRF Tyres ICC Men’s T20I Team Rankings announced on Wednesday, 2 May.
On Tuesday, a few of their players showed off those very short-format skills that make New Zealanders so popular in T20 leagues around the world.
Tim Southee underlined the value of good old-fashioned pace bowling with the new ball and at the death, Colin de Grandhomme demonstrated what flourish at the finish is, and Brendon McCullum used all his batting and leadership wiles to give their Indian Premier League (IPL) side a much-needed win.
The trio played starring roles as the Virat Kolhi-led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) defended 167/7 against Mumbai Indians for a 14-run win.
Southee was the star of the day, finishing with 2/25 and the Player of the Match award. He got the new ball to swing beautifully, striking in the first over, and formed a formidable partnership with Umesh Yadav, who had two in his second over.
He then came back at the death, bringing out the yorkers and smart lengths to deny the opposition.
“First and foremost, we went to our strongest skill set and that's trying to swing the ball,” explained Southee. “There was a little bit of assistance there with the swing and we were able to take those early wickets.
“And once it stopped swinging, we adapted to that, to the cross seam deliveries which were holding the surface and moving a little bit off the surface as well. So, I think we were reasonably smart as a bowling unit.”
Earlier, on that tricky pitch, even as the Bangalore middle and lower order were struggling to capitalise on a strong start, a belligerent de Grandhomme took 24 off the last over. He not only ruined the figures of his countryman Mitchell McClenaghan, who had done satisfactorily till then, but took his team to what would be a winning total.
Then, not having bowled in the competition till this game, he conceded just 11 runs off his first two overs to keep the pressure on the Mumbai batsmen.
Declaring de Grandhomme’s batting in the last over as “very important”, Southee praised his teammate’s all-round performance. “He bowled well today. I think he'll be disappointed with the five wides, but I think he did the job on the surface and obviously bowled three tight overs for there for us. So, he's a handy bowler.”
Even as the bowlers soaked in the pressure, frequently at their ear and over their shoulder was McCullum, their former captain, animatedly discussing strategy and field placements.
“We got a lot of knowledge in the group,” agreed Southee. “It's nice to have that sort of leaders. Obviously he's captained NZ for a long time so he's got a cricketing brain. It’s nice to have different voices out there helping Virat out. It's nice to share that knowledge and he's passing it on. Obviously he batted for a while as well, he was just passing on his knowledge to the bowlers as well.”