New Zealand have been surprise package this world cup everything they did has until now worked out perfect.
The men's ICC World Twenty20 finally arrives in Mohali. While the pitches have been the talking point in all the other venues that have featured so far, there's bound to be scrutiny on the strip at the Punjab Cricket Association stadium as well. And clashing here will be two teams who have been polar opposites in terms of pitch-reading so far. New Zealand have been perfect, Pakistan have been perfectly imperfect.
So it wasn't a surprise when a host of Pakistan players, including Shahid Afridi, headed straight out towards the pitch when they came for their practice session March 21. The strip was still under covers but when it was removed, there seemed hardly a difference between the ground and the wicket itself.
Of course all this was nearly 36 hours before the scheduled start of play. The curator did get going soon after and by evening, it had lost several shades of green. The real pitch-reading will have to come from the skippers and the think-tank of course but on first evidence, this hardly seemed one that would turn as square as Nagpur or Kolkata.
That will be good news for both teams that have traditionally and even recently relied a lot more on their pace department. It might even give New Zealand an opportunity to field Tim Southee and Trent Boult for the first time in the tournament.
Pakistan might finally get a chance to field the same combination without being ridiculed for it. But there's still a fair bit of time for both teams to weight up options. What doesn't change is the fact that this will be a crucial tie for both teams.
With two wins out of two, New Zealand have a chance to book a spot in the knockouts if they make it a hat-trick of wins. For Pakistan, another loss will muddle their chances of making it to the knockouts. A win for Pakistan will open up the group intriguingly.
This is what Shahid Afridi and Mike Henson had to say at press conference.
Shahid Afridi: "What people are saying is up to them, but as a captain I am just concerned about my team's and my performance. I have belief in my and team's ability that we will make the best use of our skills in tomorrow's game. New Zealand is a good team, they have been playing good cricket for a few years now, but conditions are different. It's also a different event and we have the hunger to win the next match."
Mike Hesson: "They are unpredictable, but very skilful. They have got a lot of pace of left-arm variety and with Irfan they have a difference in terms of bounce. Their bowling attack in particular is very challenging. We are fortunate to have played them recently. Whether that makes them less predictable or just gives us more information. As a batting unit, they are relatively predictable in the way they play and that gives us more opportunity with the ball.
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