Kohli's side improve their net run rate with crushing victory
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NewsTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome once again to Golf News Straight Back. It was another pivotal day
00:14at the T20 World Cup as the Super 12 stages are edging their conclusion. Joining me to
00:20discuss today's action are Mr Cricket UAE Anis Sajjan and Golf News expert Satish. Starting
00:27with Anis, please summarise the two games that we've just seen tonight.
00:32Thank you Imran. Hello Satish. As expected, we were knowing that New Zealand will get
00:37the better of Namibia and India will get what they wanted to do achieve against Scotland.
00:44And to be very honest, at one time New Zealand were struggling, but came the experience of
00:49Nisham as well as the young Glenn Phillips, which they already rate him high, and they
00:54hammered four overs, I believe 60 or 64 runs, which took the game totally away from Namibia
00:59and diffuse them. Whereas India when they won the toss, Scotland was always chasing
01:04the game, bowling them out for 85. It was India probably just had to walk in the park
01:10and that's how India achieved the win.
01:12Okay, let's go back to the first game at two o'clock today. It was New Zealand as Anis
01:17has just mentioned against Namibia. New Zealand had their eye on not only winning but boosting
01:22the net run rate, which would give them a bit of a cushion in group two, and they sealed
01:27another convincing victory, which improves their chances of reaching the semifinals.
01:32They batted first, but the dangerous openers Guptil and Mitchell, they were sent back without
01:37doing as much damage as they would have expected to. And the early momentum was checked by
01:42the Namibians. Satish, did they underestimate their attack?
01:48I don't think so. It's more than the attack. It's the wicket that plays a big role. It
01:53doesn't matter which attack you play. It is the wicket that plays a major role in what
01:59you can achieve. So, I think that way, New Zealand played a bit cautious to start with.
02:03Yeah, if Guptil had fired, then that would have been a different issue. But they were
02:07a little cautious and they waited till the last. And then, see again, this is a problem
02:11with these smaller teams because of the lack of experience. They can't hold those important
02:16key moments. That's where they slip up. So, that's exactly where New Zealand, they were
02:21waiting for the Namibians to slip up. Of course, they did exceedingly well to do until the
02:2716th over, if I remember right. So, not even the 16th, I think even the 17th over, when
02:33David Weese came and bowled that one particular over. That's where they were literally left
02:39off the hook. But yeah, see again, the last three overs, these guys have played T20 cricket
02:46across the world and they know that one end of the boundary is small, the other one is
02:51a big one. So, they know how to capitalise on that. But I think that is where the entire
02:58thing happened.
02:59Anif, you've already mentioned it, there were some fireworks at the end as the Black
03:04Caps hit 67 runs of the last four overs and they reached 163. And ultimately, that rescued
03:11them, didn't it?
03:12Oh yes, big time. In fact, they have done it now twice. First time against Scotland.
03:18At that time also, they had lost four wickets. At that time, it was Guptil who made sure
03:22that they got the big runs. And today, on the slow wicket, like Satish mentioned, it
03:26was not easy to begin with. But in the end, the experience of Namibia actually came into
03:31picture where they bowled short balls rather than pitching it up or rather bowling a back
03:36of length. And that is where the dangerous Glenn Phillips, he is the future of New Zealand.
03:41And of course, Jamie Nisham has a lot of experience and they cut loose. And that's
03:46why 67 runs came. And David Wiese has played enough cricket to give 21 runs in that over,
03:52which led that foot on the accelerator by the Kiwi batsman. And then there was no looking
03:57back.
03:58Satish, in response, Namibia went from 47 for no loss to 55 for three in just 13 balls.
04:05At the same stage, after 10 overs, Namibia were just six runs behind New Zealand. But
04:11did they ever give you the feeling?
04:13That's the crucial one. Like, you see, that is where I would always say the experience
04:17comes in. And those who crack under the pressure of the first will lose it. So, Namibia, again,
04:23they could have… It's not Namibia. Even yesterday, for that matter, West Indies did
04:27the same thing. They were only 10 runs behind of the half-way mark.
04:29Did they ever give you the feeling that they could win, Satish?
04:31Sorry?
04:32Did they ever give you the feeling that they could do the chase?
04:35Namibia, no. It was difficult. Because, see, 140 was the pass score. 135 was the pass score.
04:40It was way above the pass score. So, I don't think they would have had any chance. They
04:45let the grip slip in the last few overs. From there, I don't think there was any time where
04:51they could have come back because of the pressure. And these Kiwi bowlers are all hugely experienced
04:56bowlers on those wickets. It is going to be difficult to score that many runs, especially
05:03under pressure.
05:04Aneesh, New Zealand, they're looking clinical. They look impressive. They seem to be coming
05:10into form at the right time. Do you think they could sneak into the final?
05:15To be very honest, New Zealand has always been that team, you know, that are not the
05:19glamour boys. They do their work in the right way, or rather clinical way, and make sure
05:25they reach the knockouts of every tournament. To be very honest, in this tournament, they
05:28haven't fired that well as much as you expect them, bearing their India game where they
05:32outclassed India. But the games against Scotland and Namibia, they were found wanting against
05:37Spain. And we'll see how they come up against Afghanistan in that last grand game, which
05:42they have to win to go into the knockout.
05:45Okay, so New Zealand's win today means they will go through to the semi-finals if they
05:50beat Afghanistan on Sunday. But hoping that that doesn't happen, obviously, is India,
05:55who needed to beat Scotland today to keep their World Cup hope alive. And Virat Kohli
06:01got off to the perfect start, finally, by winning the toss, that too on his birthday.
06:06Happy birthday to him. India bowled Scotland out for 85 and won by 8 wickets. And it was
06:13just the result that they needed, wasn't it, Anish?
06:15Yes, Imran, like you've mentioned, it was the perfect toss for Virat Kohli to win on
06:20his birthday. Bowling out was also very good. Like, you wanted them to be bowled out below
06:25100. That was also perfect. But you know, Imran, I would probably, some might say that
06:32what Anish is saying, but this is what I'm trying to put my thinking cap and say, India
06:36should have left a carrot dangling in front of Afghanistan. What I'm trying to come to
06:40the point is, by chasing down the target, they had to chase the target in 7.10 overs
06:44to get ahead of Afghanistan. But mind you, India was anyways playing the last game against
06:49Namibia, which was after the Afghanistan game. So if they had kept that carrot dangling in
06:53front of Afghanistan, where they would have been behind Afghanistan by a little margin
07:01of net run rate, it would have given Afghanistan that belief that, no, yes, even if they win
07:06and win by 10-20 runs, they know India will have to work hard. Now, Afghanistan probably
07:11to win that, to have a victory over New Zealand will go berserk and might press the self-destruct
07:18button, which might go against India. I know I'm saying like an emotional fan, but I believe
07:23this is what is going to happen because Afghanistan knows a win will not take them through. They
07:27will have to win too big the way India has won. And getting that big win, probably Afghanistan
07:33will play into the hands of Kiwis.
07:34It's an interesting point. Satish, what do you make of that?
07:38No, I think Afghanistan will go for it because you never know. They can even boost the run
07:44rate. You never know. They are capable of hitting 200-220 also. So it doesn't matter
07:50to them. I think the Sunday match is going to be crucial, but the advantage India has
07:55is, or the disadvantage India has is, by the time they go into the Monday match, they
07:59know exactly where they are. Maybe they could still have their chances open or they might
08:03have lost their chances by Sunday itself.
08:06I disagree. You know, Satish, I'll tell you why. If I am Afghanistan and I know I have
08:12to win the match and have to win big, like imagine, they are not playing against a Mino
08:16team. They are playing against a veteran New Zealand team. So they cannot win by 20 runs.
08:22Now the equation for Afghanistan is that they have to win by 100 runs to give India
08:26a challenge to overall rather go for at least 0.50 ahead of India. Now winning by 20, 30,
08:3340 runs is not going to be that difficult for India to chase. I know we are talking
08:38on two different levels, but that's the way I would think as an Afghanistan. I would now
08:42go for the kill. I said, I'm not going to benefit anything out of winning. I want to
08:48win and make sure I put India out.
08:50I also try to disagree with you, but don't you think the pride is there? With them beating
08:57New Zealand, they'll feel that, yes, we have given ourselves the best, but still we missed
09:02the semifinal. That's okay.
09:03I wish I could say this on air, but maybe off air, I'll tell you this.
09:07We'll wait for your affair, Anees. Okay, listen guys, back to today's game. The quickest India
09:14have ever reached 86 runs in a T20 match was in 2009 against Sri Lanka. They scored
09:1988 runs after just 6.4 overs. Today, they bettered that by one ball. They got to the
09:24target by 6.3 overs. It was a fantastic assault, but where has this intent been in the previous
09:31two games?
09:32I wish I could say that because this is exactly where we are all searching for that intent
09:37in the first two games. Where is it? It is not the Indian team which we were used to.
09:42It was absolutely missing. Especially, I watched that New Zealand game. I was there.
09:45I was covering that game. It was like some novices playing against New Zealand. And that's
09:52where I'm still not getting to grips with things. They could have just not attacked.
09:57They could have gone for the singles. They could have rotated the strike. They could
10:01have got 150, 160. Maybe then things could have been different. But they were clueless.
10:07Either they were defending or they were trying to hit the ball to the boundary, which exactly
10:11again, I have to come back to yesterday's game also. The same strategy which West Indies
10:16employed yesterday. So, this type of T20 cricket is out of fashion now. Sri Lanka showed the
10:24latest form of T20 cricket yesterday when they played 1s and 2s on odd boundaries and
10:30they never played too many shots in the air. That means, you are cutting the risk and then
10:35not giving the opponent the wickets. In the process, what happened is, it put pressure
10:41on West Indies to search for that wicket. And they started making the mistakes. That's
10:45where they capped plays and went for the extra runs. So, this is the new form of T20 cricket
10:50which I think India should have played. They would have known it. But even I'm searching
10:55for that answer to that question, which is absolutely… It's beyond anybody's comprehension.
11:02Because the style is so different.
11:04One of life's mysteries.
11:05Sorry?
11:06One of life's mysteries. Anish, you know, I mean, look, KL Rahul, he hit 50 in 15 balls
11:11today. When he can bat like this, you have to wonder why he doesn't do it more often.
11:17This is what the Indian fans are really frustrated about, aren't they?
11:20You're right, Ibran. There is a very important saying in cricket which Sunil Gavaskar keeps
11:25mentioning. It's temperament which separates the men from the boys. And as much as KL Rahul
11:31is very talented, I'm afraid he still lacks the temperament. Okay, he has scored a fantastic
11:3650. You cannot take away from him. He scored a wonderful 70 against Afghanistan. But come
11:41the big games, when you come against a knockout game match, I'm afraid that is where KL Rahul
11:46has failed to deliver, whether it is for Team India, whether it is for Punjab. He's got
11:50the talent which Virat Kohli hails is bigger than even Rohit Sharma. But I'm afraid the
11:56temperament which is emotional, mental and physical trait, which is what KL Rahul lacks.
12:01And that is why he has not been able to take Punjab to the knockouts or you're talking
12:05about India. I remember the Manchester game, he just had to play the situation, but he
12:10felt under the pressure.
12:11Yeah, I mean, all due respect to Scotland, I mean, they're not the best. So I suppose
12:16we did expect India to, you know, for the openers, at least to get well underway. In
12:22the last match, it was the batsmen that stole the show against Afghanistan in that 66-run
12:26win. But today it was the bowlers who really showed their skill. Jadeja and Shami both
12:31got three for 15. Satish, how impressed were you with both?
12:36They bowled the right line and length. They bowled so many yorkers and they were hitting
12:40the wickets like nobody's business. So that's exactly, you know, if they had done half good
12:46as they have done today, maybe, you know, we would have done even better in the two
12:52games which we lost. Of course.
12:54Apish, we were defending at that time, you know, batting first and batting second is
12:59different in Dubai. You all know, all the teams have struggled batting first.
13:02Correct. Correct. That's another point which, you know, like…
13:05No excuses, but you have to give it. Toss plays a crucial role in Dubai.
13:09Yeah, exactly. Now it is only in Dubai. Because if you look at the last three games in Abu
13:13Dhabi, the team that batted first has won in the last three games in Abu Dhabi.
13:17Agreed. Agreed.
13:18So now, Dubai is… Toss is still favouring the team that is batting second in Dubai,
13:23which I think the due factor is more in Dubai than in Abu Dhabi, maybe. So that way, yes.
13:29But again, the line and length they bowled was phenomenal. These guys are all… That's
13:34what I keep telling them. They have the talent. It's not that something they don't…
13:38They lack it. They have the talent. Only thing is, they didn't exhibit it in the first
13:41two games. Of course, as the saying goes, form is temporary, class is permanent.
13:46So they had that bad form in the first two games.
13:50Anish, the balance looked right today. Do you think going forwards, India should stick
13:55with the combination of having three spinners in the team?
14:00You know what? I'm a big fan of Varun Chakravorty. But to be very honest, as much as he's bowled
14:04tight lines, he's not picked up wickets, which Ashwin and Jadeja has picked. And when you
14:08are playing a knockout game, I'm not sure whether the due factor will come into it.
14:14I know Varun doesn't… Due doesn't affect Varun. But the point is, he needs to buy wickets.
14:19And if he's not going to buy wickets, I would rather go for Shardul Thakur because he's
14:22handy with the bat. And he's also weakling with the ball.
14:25But…
14:26That experience of Shardul will matter.
14:31Satish, what were you going to say?
14:33No, the thing is…
14:36I think we've lost him because of network.
14:39We've lost him.
14:40Okay, just finally, it was a huge moment, Anees, for Scottish cricket. I mean, they
14:45were playing against a giant in the game today against India. Going forwards, what will they
14:50take from this game and also being in the World Cup?
14:53Very honestly, Imran, you know, teams like Namibia, Scotland, Ireland, they all want
14:59exposure. Because if you're going to play once in a while and once in four years, probably
15:04twice in four years with the big boys, you're not going to get anything out of it. You will
15:08have learned the experience, but that experience, you need to have it regularly. You can't
15:12have it once in two years or once in four years. ICC has to look into it that they get
15:16enough games against these big boys.
15:19Yeah.
15:20Okay, guys, I'll wrap it up there. There's another doubleheader tomorrow where Group
15:24One will be decided. Australia play against West Indies and England play against South
15:29Africa. And we'll be back to see how they all go on. In the meantime, do head on to
15:33golfnews.com for all the latest news, reviews, analysis, videos, and plenty more. That's
15:38all from us for tonight. Thanks and good night.