"They have faith in their planning" - Aakash Chopra on New Zealand's positives ahead of the T20 World Cup 2021 final
Aakash Chopra believes the New Zealand team's faith in their well-thought-out tactics is one of the things that could work to their advantage in the T20 World Cup 2021 final against Australia.
New Zealand qualified for their maiden T20 World Cup final by putting it across England in the semi-final. They will hope to go all the way and add the shortest-format title to the World Test Championship they won earlier this year.
While reflecting on New Zealand's plus points in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra highlighted that the Black Caps tend to stick with their plans. He said:
"This team is not of rockstars, but they are rock solid. They have faith in their planning and they stick with it for a long time. Let's be fair, they have bowled very well."
The former India opener added that New Zealand have a formidable bowling attack. Chopra elaborated:
"Whether it is Trent Boult, Tim Southee or Adam Milne. The three of them together have done a good job and will do well here also. They have two decent spinners - Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner - you will expect them to do better again here. Jimmy Neesham is not a bad sixth bowling option, he does the job."
Most wickets in #AusVsNZ T20Is:
16: Ish Sodhi
13: Ashton Agar
11: Kane Richardson
10: Trent Boult
9: Mitchell Santner
9: Tim Southee
#T20WorldCup | #T20WorldCupFinal
Trent Boult, with 11 scalps, is the Black Caps' most successful bowler in the tournament so far. Ish Sodhi and Tim Southee have accounted for nine and eight dismissals respectively to date.
"Kane Williamson the captain" - Aakash Chopra on New Zealand's other huge strength
Aakash Chopra picked Kane Williamson's astute captaincy as another huge positive for New Zealand. He observed:
"Another huge strength of this team is Kane Williamson the captain. The way he manages his players, it is incredible. He did not score runs himself in the last match but he will score. Big match, big player."
Kane Williamson reminds me so much of Rahul Dravid. Never larger than life, but a top batsman in all formats, and a top captain. Also articulate, calm, respectful, humble, thoughtful. The kind of guy for who deserves more adjectives than Twitter’s character limit permits.
The reputed commentator highlighted that the New Zealand think tank would have chalked out precise plans for each of the Australian batters. Chopra explained:
"They will try to bring the ball in for Aaron Finch. Tim Southee will try to take the ball away from David Warner. You will take the pace off the ball against Mitchell Marsh. Bouncers will be bowled as soon as Maxwell comes in. You will find they will have a plan for every player."
The Kiwis have stunned quite a few cricket experts with their run to the final. The immaculate execution of their plans has held them in good stead throughout the tournament.