Match 6 - New Zealand vs Netherlands at Hyderabad - Preview
When Netherlands faced Pakistan in the opener at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium at Hyderabad, it would have been quite colourfully welcoming. The city of the SunRisers IPL team had recently painted its seating in orange, the colour the Dutch sport. That’s where the pleasantness ended. On to the playing area, the Pakistanis, who have made the city and the ground their home from the arrival on Indian soil, resonated better with the colour green.
Netherlands now play their second match here against the
current table-toppers, who after their tremendous win over the defending
champions are sitting pretty at the top.
New Zealand have mastered the art of defying pre-tournament
predictions by pundits and will look to make to its third consecutive finals in
this year’s edition. The brilliance of Rachin Ravindra and Devon Conway in the
opener will augur well for them and hopefully carry forward the good work. While
Trent Boult and Matt Henry will spearhead the NZ attack, their bowling will
still be missing the experience of Tim Southee and Lockie Fergusson. This match
may not give much practice to the middle-order, whose services would be needed
in the matches ahead.
The Kiwis face the Dutch team that has only one good player
show by Bas De Leede. Bas emulated his father Tim De Leede’s 4-for in a world
cup, by getting his own against Pakistan and also scoring a half century. But
Netherlands need more than a singular performance to test the ‘high-flying’
Kiwis. Their exploits in the qualifying stage where they ousted two-time
champions West Indies has to be once again unleashed to make an impact. NZ on their part will look at the match to improve upon their good Net Run Rate.
The
early October weather in Hyderabad with moderate heat and humidity with pleasant
evening will make for a good match. Hope the crowds turn up big to cheer the
teams!
- Venkat, Team Pure Cricket
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Pics: Internet
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