“Not A Team That…”: Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli Evaluate the New Zealand team before their World Cup match

Virat Kohli, the veteran batsman for India, praised New Zealand’s structure and consistency, citing them as key elements in their success ahead of their next match in the present World Cup. In the current World Cup, the Kiwis hold a spotless record despite playing teams like the Netherlands, Bangladesh, England, and Afghanistan. The Men in Blue, on the other hand, have also had a flawless start, but one team’s winning run will end on Sunday.

In the eight times that the two teams have faced off in the ODI World Cup, the Blackcaps have won five of them. Their recent success in major competition—they advanced to the World Cup finals in 2015 and 2019 and defeated India in the 2021 World Test Championship final—further inspires confidence in them.

Kohli discussed the elements that led to New Zealand’s supremacy in the World Cup ahead of the eagerly anticipated match.

They are a highly organized and professional team that plays cricket in a highly methodical manner. However, they have been incredibly consistent within that framework, which has contributed to their success. The team deserves praise for their style of play. Since they are not a squad that makes many mistakes, each team that plays against them must find a way to disrupt their rhythm and play to the best of their skills. This will ultimately determine whether or not you can handle their consistency.

The Indian captain, Rohit Sharma, praised New Zealand’s tactical skill, saying, “I think when I talk about tactical, New Zealand comes to mind.” New Zealand is a tough squad to compete with.

They bat in accordance with the ideas that have been given to them, so I believe they are quite powerful tactically. You can see that there has been some kind of planning done against each player when you play against them. We have frequently lost against them in ICC competitions, so it is crucial for us to try to play the game and first try to grasp the circumstances and what each of us needs to do individually.”

Also read: Match preview SA vs ENG: From playing XI to pitch report, All details here

The Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala will host the match between the two teams.