On the one hand, New Zealand dominated the majority of the 30 middle overs of their batting innings. Daryl Mitchell scored more runs than any other batsman in an ODI innings against Kuldeep Yadav’s deft left-arm legspinner. Rachin Ravindra contributed 73 very stylish runs to a third-wicket stand worth 159 during which the opposition committed several unforced errors on the field. On the other hand, they lost by four wickets, loosening their grip on India in ICC competitions after twenty years.
Nearing the midpoint of the division stage of the World Cup, it would be prudent to ask how a team can hope to defeat the Indian bowling attack under these conditions. Five times now, teams have attempted but failed to answer this query. Prior to the match, the two best options appeared to be attacking their spinners in the middle overs and disrupting Rohit Sharma’s plans. Obviously, this strategy carries an inherent risk. Alternately, you could wait for India’s attack to become unbalanced.
As it turns out, New Zealand had both advantages. Hardik Pandya’s absence left India with a five-man bowling attack, which they elected to balance out with Mohammed Shami’s additional pace. The triumvirate of Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Siraj left New Zealand reeling at 34 for 2 after the first PowerPlay, with Shami striking on his first delivery of the tournament.
Each of India’s four oppon
ents prior to today had a strong start, but fell in the middle rounds against Kuldeep and Ravindra Jadeja. Prior to today, India had taken 21 middle-overs wickets in four games, with Afghanistan’s 5.43 on a batting sanctuary in Delhi being the best run-rate against them in this phase. New Zealand scored 185 for 2 between overs 11 and 40, averaging 6.17 runs per over.
Mitchell and Ravindra were at the center of this adventure into the unknown versus the Indian attack. The former manipulated the lengths of the fast bowlers by striding at them or across the crease, while the latter took time to adjust to the slightly sluggish surface before gaining the confidence to strike balls on the up and in the ‘v’.
Mitchell’s 43 runs off 28 Kuldeep deliveries was arguably the most notable aspect of the Black Caps’ middle-overs performance. He did not allow India’s leading spinner to thread together a series of pressure balls, striding out to hit the spinner over his head for sixes back over his head, and constantly reminding the fielders of his ability to play the sweep or reverse sweep, thus disrupting their plans.
New Zealand, as inventive and proactive as ever, was determined not to let Rohit play his customary game of blink, but despite the absence of a bowling insurance, India began to demonstrate that they possessed the foresight to navigate an alternate path to success with the available resources.
Shami gave them another opportunity by breaking the century stand with an off-cutter that Ravindra struck through the throat of long-on. Then, Kuldeep bowled a series of effective recovery overs, altering his line to well outside Mitchell’s off-stump to deny him swinging leverage. The series of close deliveries eventually resulted in the dismissals of Tom Latham and Glenn Phillips and provided India with a platform from which to initiate a late offensive.
Bumrah returned and bowled off-cutter length balls that were difficult to catch. Control, the linchpin of India’s bowling strategies for this World Cup, was once again reestablished. In a six-over stretch between overs 38 and 43, India did not concede any boundaries and only allowed 27 runs.
Suddenly, it became apparent that New Zealand could no longer march its way to a score of 300 or higher and would need to gallop in order to do so. And they were forced to do so against Shami, a bowler whose ODI statistics border on the absurd. In ODIs, he obtains a wicket every 27 deliveries, which is an outstanding strike rate that improves throughout the innings. In the middle overs, he scores at a rate of 26.51, and at the end of the game, he scores at 14.87. When narrowed down to just death bowling in World Cups, this number falls to a ridiculous 9.35.
This is the type of bowler India has been forced to leave on the sideline because they cannot risk their tail commencing at No. 8. Every time he bowled a ball after being reintroduced to the offense, he appeared to query this very premise. Mitchell Santner and Matt Henry were both bowled out by full-length deliveries that sailed in and hit them in succession. Mitchell became Shami’s fifth victim of the evening, holing out while attempting to score runs for the team. The centurion’s average over his last 27 deliveries was only 30. New Zealand’s score of 273 was well below the target they had established by dominating the middle overs.
Shami was the recipient of a hefty bounty, but the opposition praised the group as a whole. Mitchell conceded at the conclusion of the game, “India’s bowling was obviously quite exceptional.” “Shami got the rewards but also Bumrah, the way he and Siraj, the way they took wickets after that 40 overs sort of probably held us back a little bit.”
Even after claiming five wickets and paving a different path to success, it is uncertain whether Shami will start India’s next game. This will depend on Pandya’s rehabilitation from his ankle injury and whether India will contemplate swapping Siraj for Shami to restore their six bowling options and batting depth through No. 8. This is an indication of where they stand in terms of bowling potency. As New Zealand demonstrated, they could be defeated in stages, but it will require a lengthier, sustained effort to defeat them.
