New Zealand have got a massive boost ahead of their opening Super 8 clash against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup as their captain Mitchell Santner has recovered from illness. He missed their previous game against Canada and Daryl Mitchell had stepped in to lead the team. Santner will take over the team’s reins from him now as the race for the semifinals begins.
Mark Chapman confirmed the development in the pre-match press conference while also confirming that the Kiwis wait on fast bowler Lockie Ferguson’s availability. He missed the previous outing to be with his wife for the birth of their child and is due to reach Colombo only on Friday night and it remains to be seen if he will be included in the playing XI.
New Zealand ready to adapt to slow pitches in Sri Lanka
New Zealand played all their group stage matches in India, but they have now moved their base to Sri Lanka for the Super 8 matches. The pitches in Colombo and Pallekele have been a tad on the slower side and spinners will play a key role. Chapman highlighted the same and also noted the importance of rotating the strike on the big grounds.
“I think here especially, given the slower nature of the pitch along with the slightly bigger boundaries as well, you have to certainly change your game plan.ย For me personally, batting in the middle I could be in the powerplay or in with very few overs to go. So specifically against the spinners it’s probably [about] looking at different options around whether you employ a sweep shot more or a reverse sweep. Whereas in India, where it doesn’t spin as much, you can look to target the straight boundaries a little bit more.
“And obviously there’s big pockets here too, so it’s not all about sixes on this ground. Lots of twos, lots of fours – and running hard between the wickets is really important as well, particularly if it’s not a very high score,” Chapman said. Notably, the Kiwis will play all their Super 8 matches at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
New Zealand’s Super 8 schedule in T20 World Cup
February 21 – New Zealand vs Pakistan
February 25 – New Zealand vs Sri Lanka
February 27 – New Zealand vs England
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