India v New Zealand: A clash of contrasts and subplots in a dead rubber

Dubai: Tournaments often bring a sense of pressure and anxiety for players, especially in knockout matches. One team that has historically caused India to struggle with these emotions is New Zealand. However, Rohit Sharma's team will be relieved to face the Kiwis in a Champions Trophy match where a loss won't eliminate them from the tournament.

Both India and New Zealand have tamed Pakistan and Bangladesh, fairly convincingly. Quite clearly, Pakistan cricket has fallen off the cliff and Bangladesh refused to grow. The well-oiled Indian and Kiwi camps have benefitted. India have had it easier, being stationed at one location. No packing and unpacking to do, no air miles to add, no travel fatigue to deal with.

In contrast, New Zealand would have gone the whole hog by the time they complete the tournament. They played in Karachi and Rawalpindi, are here in Dubai, will go back to play the semi-final in Lahore and might have to return to Dubai if they make the final. True to their reputation, they would not complain.

“Oh look, it is what it is. It’s been decided and that’s the way that it is and there’s no point dwelling on that,” New Zealand spinner Michael Bracewell said on Friday. “It’s part of what makes it exciting I personally think, coming to a different ground and trying to figure out those different conditions.”

For being the uncomplaining good guys in cricket, their excellence isn’t magnified enough. Their consistent record in ICC events across formats is evidence of the threat they pose.

In fact, what New Zealand does very well is embrace the old Indian jugaad - a flexible approach to problem solving. Don’t have the commercial might to host a local T20 league? Allow the players to travel the world and okay ‘casual contracts’. Find horses for courses from their limited player pool for each ICC event. If it’s a subcontinent heavy schedule, strengthen the support staff with Sri Lankan spin expert Rangana Herath. England’s Ian Bell, India’s Vikram Rathore and Pakistan’s Saqlain Mushtaq have all had specific-purpose stints with the team in the past.

One thing that New Zealand does very well is plan meticulously and put in the hard yards. Rachin Ravindra came to India early to prepare for their Test series late last year. This being their first match of the tournament in Dubai, they spread Saturday’s pre-match training schedule by hitting the nets at the academy ground, then taking the shuttle to the main stadium for a round of fielding practice under lights.

The spotlight back home is usually on their rugby peers All Blacks. It helps the Black Caps to put their head down and get on with their job, chasing results. “We don’t like to put too much pressure on ourselves,” Bracewell said. “Obviously coming off a great Test series win, it gives us a lot of confidence. We’ve got a really good record against India in ICC events. I think we like to take a game and not try and let the moment get to us.”

Gaze on India, Kohli

Try as they may, India cannot train without distractions. A dozen strong media crew wait to capture every movement of their practice. Dozens of fans find their way to the training arena with their optical zoom mobile lenses. Even pictures of Virat Kohli being cleaned up by Mohammed Shami during the evening net session found its way to social media.

Constantly dealing with the gaze around his stardom, Kohli is preparing to become the first contemporary player to play 300 ODIs. 21 past players have featured in more matches than him, but only two have more runs against their name.

A win on Sunday would see India locking horns with Australia in the semi-finals on Tuesday. A loss would set up a showdown with South Africa. Momentum can also be a big thing in a tournament. Neither team would like to slip up.

There are also other considerations at play. For India, batting first would force their fast bowlers into a limited turnaround time before the semi-final. It may tempt India to want to chase again, or they may decide to give Shami a breather.

One thing the Indian team has got a hang of is the slow nature of the pitches in Dubai. “We’ve become used to a standard where you score 320 without thinking too much about it. Getting to 320 (here) has been difficult. They are probably like 280-290 pitches if you bat really well,” India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said.

Skills over match-ups?

If India do bat first, and there is merit in trying to trial that strategy before the semi-finals, the batters would strive to break off the shackles of low scores in Dubai. Equally good as the two teams are, their strategies will come under the spotlight. Will India keep faith with their twin left-arm spinners against a left-hand heavy Kiwi batting line-up? Will New Zealand’s twin off-spinners hold their own against India’s long list of right-handed batters?

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