The Black Caps celebrate Ish Sodhi's wicket of Virat Kohli. Photo / Photosport
The Black Caps celebrate Ish Sodhi's wicket of Virat Kohli. Photo / Photosport
Watch out world – the Black Caps are alive and kicking at the Twenty20 World Cup.
A stunning eight-wicket win over India in Dubai has catapulted the Black Caps into contention, with a brilliant bowling display restricting India to a meagre 110-7, before a cruisy chase put them in thebox seat for progression into the semifinals.
Take care of business in their next two games against Scotland and Namibia, and victory over a dangerous Afghanistan side in their final group game will be enough to qualify second in their pool, behind Pakistan, and move through to the final four.
Crucially, progression is now in their own hands, with a simple equation – three wins and they advance.
India, meanwhile, have to win their final three games, while now also hoping that Afghanistan tip over the Black Caps, which – assuming no side slips up against Scotland or Namibia - would leave all three squads on a 3-2 record, and net run rate as the decider.
With such drastic swings in fortune based on the result, today's match was essentially a quarter-final, and after the ODI World Cup semifinal and the World Test Championship final, the Black Caps continue to be India's kryptonite at major events.
The Black Caps celebrate Ish Sodhi's wicket of Virat Kohli. Photo / Photosport
India's batsmen must be especially sick of the sight of Trent Boult and Tim Southee. After the Black Caps won a crucial toss and decided to bowl first, the duo put the clamps on early, before the rest of the bowling attack followed suit in a clinical display.
Boult set the tone, with an excellent opening over conceding just one, before his second over picked up the wicket of Ishan Kishan, who swatted a half-volley straight to Daryl Mitchell on the deep square leg boundary.
He should have picked up another big scalp, only for Adam Milne to drop Rohit Sharma first ball, with Sharma's poorly timed hook from a Boult bouncer flying to Milne at long leg, but straight through his hands as he knelt to catch it.
Milne was the only early blemish – after dropping Sharma he was carved for 15 off his opening over - but battled back to end with 1-30 from four, and his fellow bowlers weren't giving an inch.
Southee picked up KL Rahul in identical fashion to Boult's removal of Kishan, and at the other end Mitchell Santner was tying down Virat Kohli as part of a superb spell which saw him leak just 15 runs from his four overs.
Also superb was his spin partner Ish Sodhi. To Milne's relief, Sharma couldn't make the most of his blunder, dragging Sodhi to long-on and departing for a run-a-ball 14, before Kohli's dreary stay ended for just nine off 17 balls as Sodhi (2-17) lured him into a slog across the line, with Boult showing safe hands on the long-on rope.
Trent Boult reminds everyone where the rope is after taking a catch to dismiss Virat Kohli. Photo / Photosport
The halfway stage had passed and India were in dire straits at 48-4, and the Black Caps continued to ruthlessly turn the screws. An absurd 70 balls passed between boundaries, with 54 dot balls in the innings as the bowlers hit their lengths and widths, ball after ball.
Hardik Pandya (23 off 24) and Ravindra Jadeja (26 not out off 19) attempted a rebuild, but it was too late and too slow – the damage had been done, with Boult picking up two late wickets to finish with 3-20 and wrap up a sensational bowling display.
It was so sensational, in fact, that the chase quickly became a foregone conclusion.
Martin Guptill removed any chance of early pressure with 20 off 17 balls, before Mitchell smacked 14 off Jadeja's first over. By the end of the six-over powerplay, the Black Caps were 44-1 and the only question became how quickly they would reach the target, in search of a net run rate boost.
Daryl Mitchell ensured there would be no dramas in the run chase. Photo / Photosport
Mitchell made sure that boost would be significant with 49 off 35 balls, and Kane Williamson added an unbeaten 33 off 31 as the Black Caps cruised to victory with 33 balls to spare - a buffer that could come in handy should they find themselves in the aforementioned three-way tie on 3-2 at the end of pool play.
But after today, the Black Caps no longer have to rely on things going their way – a spot in the semifinals is theirs for the taking.
