The time is upon a charged-up India to look for another World Cup glory in the presence of its fans.
The Orange City may be lacking the pre-match hype that surrounds the India-Pakistan skirmish that is to take place at Eden Gardens on March 19, but neither the host nor New Zealand can afford to discount the intensity factor because making a winning start and keeping the momentum is so crucial to go the distance in the > ICC World Twenty20.
While India would be hoping to put it across New Zealand, the Kane Williamson-led side would be determined to play an aggressive brand of cricket that former captain Brendon McCullum espoused to follow.
As for the form-guide, M.S. Dhoni’s team starts as the favourite. It has been in the thick of action and it has given sufficient hints that it has more or less come to grips with the shortest version of the game.
Apart from the embarrassing defeat caused by a rookie Sri Lankan fast bowler Kasun Rajitha in Pune last month, the former champion has registered impressive wins and won the Asian Cup in Bangladesh.
In short, the revamped side has given itself a thorough work-out starting from the three-match series in Australia which Dhoni’s team won comfortably.
Before picking the potential 15 for the World Cup campaign, the team management and the National selection committee concurred on a few aspects of the game in order to bring freshness to the team.
They brought the unpredictability factor to the scheme of things and chose Gujarat fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah and utility man Baroda’s Hardik Pandya for the three-match series in Australia.
They also recalled left-arm seamer Ashish Nehra, who has shown the penchant to get into the Twenty20 mood. Nehra and Bumrah have worked wonders accounting for 28 wickets together. Their success has also resulted in off-spinner R. Ashwin to come into his own. He has taken 17 wickets at 12.35 apiece from the series against Australia and Pandya, 10 wickets at 21.70 apiece.
In-form bowlers Quite clearly the 77 wickets (in the last 11 matches) India has captured from the three-match series in Australia have made Dhoni remain upbeat about his bowling department.
After the two warm-up games against the West Indies and South Africa, the Indian captain knows that a healthy Mohammed Shami (two for 30 against the West Indies, two for 37 against England) can be relied upon to deliver the goods.
Nehra (204 balls/259 runs), Bumrah (237/243), Ashwin (222/210), Ravindra Jadeja (210/227), Pandya (183/217) have led the attack in the last two-and-a-half months and they will be up against a clutch of aggressive New Zealand batsmen.
India’s batting has demonstrated the skills to deal with a variety of opposition and as team director Ravi Shastri said, there is a good balance between youth and experience.
India’s fielding is considered top class and Dhoni would expect all departments to function like a well-oiled machine to draw first blood against New Zealand.
It has not rained here since Saturday night.
The teams (from):
India: M.S. Dhoni (captain, wk), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Ashish Nehra, Jasprit Bumrah, Ajinkya Rahane, Harbhajan Singh, Pawan Negi, Mohammed Shami.
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (captain), Martin Guptill, Corey Anderson, Colin Munro, Ross Taylor, Grant Elliott, Henry Nicholls, Luke Ronchi (wk), Mitchell Santner, Nathan McCullum, Mitchell McClenaghan, Trent Boult, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Adam Milne.
Head to Head
Played 4: New Zealand has won all 4
2007 : ICC World Twenty20: NZ beat India by10 runs
2009: NZ beat India by 7 wkts at Christchurch
2009: NZ beat India by 5 wkts at Wellington
2012 : NZ beat India by 1 run at MAC Stadium, Chennai
India came close to notch its first win against New Zealand, but Brendon McCullum spoiled it all by making a 55-ball 91 (11 x 4s and 3 x 6s) and by putting on two vital partnerships with Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor. India made a brave attempt through Virat Kohli (70), Suresh Raina (27), Yuvraj Singh (34) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (22 not out), but eventually it fell short of the target by two runs.
Weather: Partly cloudy, no rain forecast
Pitch: Associations to follow ICC guidelines of preparing a sporting wicket
Highest score: Sri Lanka 215/5, India 186/9 on Dec 9, 2009.
Highest scored in the ICC Twenty20, 2016 qualifiers: Afghanistan 186 /6 against Zimbabwe 127
Total wickets taken by bowlers 65 wickets; 32 by spinners
