New Zealand, the perennial bridesmaid

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson

‘It wasn’t meant for us’ – Kane Williamson.

The pain of defeat was visible on Kane Williamson’s face as he answered questions after New Zealand fell, yet again, in the space of 12 months in the final lap of a world championship race they were leading right from the start. Fate is what Williamson could point to when asked to explain what exactly went wrong after a glorious start to the World T20 in India that was punctuated with breathtaking performances led by their bowlers. Fate aside, mistakes were made and a heavy price was paid as New Zealand exited the tournament with a defeat in the semi-final to England.

Four consecutive wins, the only unbeaten team, masters at adaptability and bossing conditions that were alien to them. New Zealand’s potential was continuously being backed by top-quality performances. But cricket’s shortest format has been designed to spring surprises. A team can be toppled from the perch regardless of reputation. Netherlands (lost to Oman in qualifiers), India (lost to New Zealand), West Indies (lost to Afghanistan) have seen the depths to which a minor slip-up in T20s can push one to. New Zealand are the latest entrants to this list.

A near flawless campaign ended in a whimper at Feroz Shah Kotla on Wednesday night. The tournament’s best team was up against a vastly improved England in the last-four stage. Edge-of-the-seat contest was expected. A four off the first ball set the ball rolling. At 91/1 within 11 overs and two set batsmen in the middle, the script was unfolding as the New Zealand think-tank would have wished for. 

A few mistakes later, New Zealand were left hoping the pitch would be hiding demons that conspired to push their victory charge in the tournament opener against India in Nagpur. This time around, the demons weren’t hiding in the pitch but found shelter in their batsmen’s mind from where they guided them towards the exit route while clearing the other that fast-tracked England to the World T20 final.

As England were slowly plotting their way back into the contest, New Zealand were still way ahead in the race with Corey Anderson and Ross Taylor warming up for a late surge. With four overs to go, seven wickets remaining and 133 runs on the board, the runway was clear for the take-off. Morgan unleashed his ‘death-eaters’ Chris Jordan and Ben Stokes. Their ingeniousness was up against the wastefulness of New Zealand batsmen, the result of it was that they scored just 20 runs off the final 24 deliveries.

During that phase, four wickets fell. Two of them to full toss deliveries that should have been sent soaring into the pitch-black Delhi sky, landing beyond the grasp of England fielders into the stands. Anderson and Luke Ronchi both miscalculated their shots and ended up gifting catches on full tosses. Both fell to Stokes off consecutive deliveries.

The extent of the damage was only known when Jason Roy and Jos Buttler faced no resistance from the pitch, larruping the bowlers for easy fours and sixes. The target was overhauled much before the deadline, in a supreme fashion. Poor shot selection followed poor deliveries that hurt Williamson and his all-conquering side badly from which a recovery was impossible. The latest failure at winning the world title within a year has reinforced the belief that New Zealand are cricket’s designated perennial bridesmaid. (Times of India)