A New Zealand Campaign Managed with Limited Resources

New Zealand are and are likely to continue to be the perennial underdogs. They don’t have too many flashy aspects on their side. A captain who is as cool as ever and is always smiling and a bowling attack that is well-rounded but not hyped always tend to fall under the radar.

2015 was termed as the time of their lives by Brendon McCullum. Hosts, playing some thrilling games, and making the Finals for the first time is proof as to why he said that. Under him, New Zealand changed their brand of cricket, going on the charge while becoming all the more friendly on the field. While on-field banter remains, sledging or getting under opponent’s skins came down, especially after the incident with Faf Du Plessis and the New Zealand side during the 2011 Quarter-Finals.

2015 seemed to be the honeymoon. 2019 though was all bravery and chaos. The unit made its way with what they had, the captain carried the ship and his side rallied behind him. On the field, they were incredible giving it their all each time the ball went through them.

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2023 though was a challenge on its own. New Zealand came in with Kane Williamson still recovering from an ACL tear. It looked unlikely for him to play the tournament six months ago, but a miraculous recovery let him come in and lead the side from the third game. His comeback though was short-lived. Against Bangladesh, he looked as fluent as ever but then took a throw to his thumb. The throw turned out to be more than it was with the fracture ruling him out for a few more games.

Matt Henry, their silent star in 2019 pulled his hamstring mid-way ending his tournament. Tim Southee too came in with his own injury concerns as did Jimmy Neesham. At one stage New Zealand had only eleven to pick from with four players in their fifteen injured.

They went into one of their games with the coaches getting ready to field in case one of the eleven needed a break. They fought with courage though, not bowing down to any challenge. Against Australia, facing a target of 388 did not deter New Zealand. Rachin Ravindra and later Jimmy Neesham teed off to get New Zealand very close. They fell short by four runs in the end but the courage was visible.

In the Semi-Finals as well it continued. Facing a target of 397, Daryl Mitchell walked in with New Zealand precariously placed. The ball started taking turns and the surface looked different all of a sudden. New Zealand, tasked with the challenge of batting under lights, which has been a challenge in Wankhede all tournament, did not back down once again. Fighting through a challenging attack and his own fitness with cramps hitting Mitchell went on to make 134. He kept New Zealand in the game and took the fight to the Indian bowlers.

If that was an act of courage, Rachin Ravindra through the tournament went into another realm. In his first World Cup, at the age of 23, Rachin Ravindra grabbed the spotlight. In the same place as his heroes, Rachin Ravindra scored the most runs for his side in a tournament that would seem like a dream to most 23-year-olds. With him, New Zealand will be confident in their next decade as they found a player with the potential to be a capable batter and left-arm spinner.

Unlike 2015 though the tournament did not turn out to be the time of their lives. They had a lot of struggles. Player availability was the biggest of them. On the field though they were far from their usual clinical self. Starting strong the cracks slowly started to show. Catches put down and inconsistency from their fast bowlers, particularly Trent Boult, remain big concerns.

Catching is normally an aspect that New Zealand prides itself on. This time around though that was a pretty glaring issue for them. A silver lining along with their overall standing though is Mitchell Santner’s performance. He varied the pace beautifully and was full of control in the middle overs for New Zealand.

Going on as one of the best spinners in the tournament, Santner could have more lined up for himself. He has led the side in the past and based on Kane Williamson’s future, Santner may have more opportunities to lead the side going forward. Overall, the World Cup was a tough one with few gains and few cons. The Golden Generation though did what they could, making yet another Semi-Final.