Former New Zealand pacer Simon Doull thinks the Black Caps will not be fazed by the nature of the soil in the pitch for Sunday’s Men’s T20 World Cup final against India, to be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
With this win, New Zealand, who earlier had earned one point after a washout against Pakistan, are now in second spot with three points and have a chance to move to the semifinals, with their final Super Eight clash against semifinalists England being important.
New Zealand stamped their authority over Zimbabwe with a dominant performance in the first Test of the two-match series at Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo, wrapping up the match in just two-and-a-half days to secure a comprehensive nine-wicket win.
New Zealand pulled off a dramatic seven-run win over South Africa in Harare to claim the tri-series trophy, after a nerveless final over from Matt Henry.
Willey, who bid adieu to international cricket after the ODI World Cup in India last year, missed Lucknow’s IPL opener against Rajasthan Royals last week.
The trio were ruled out of the recent ODI series over India with injuries which New Zealand won 3-0, but will return as specialist seamers alongside Tim Southee and rising rookie Kyle Jamieson.
Wagner, who is a key part of the New Zealand bowling lineup, is awaiting the birth of his first child and can miss the opening Test.
In case the left-arm pacer doesn't recover in time, Lockie Ferguson and Matt Henry are the other pace options for the Black Caps for the second Test.
This is the second instance when New Zealand have made it to the finals of ODI World Cup. The first time they reached final in 2015 where they lost to Australia by seven wickets.
Rohit Sharma (1) fell to Matt Henry when India's score was only 4 runs. But even the worse was waiting to happen as India lost skipper Virat Kohli (1) and Lokesh Rahul (1) in a span of four balls. Kohli fell to Trent Boult, whereas Rahul fell to Henry.
