The New Zealand-India rivalry will once again be witnessed in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2021. Recently India faced defeat at the hands of New Zealand in the inaugural ICC World Test Championship final. Meanwhile, former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir opined that both India and New Zealand will have an equal chance of winning the match.
Notably, India will face off arch-rivals Pakistan in their first match of T20 World Cup 2021. Meanwhile, In the second game, Virat Kohli and Co. will go against Kane Williamson’s New Zealand on 31 October in Dubai. Notably, Team India has been continuously losing to New Zealand in ICC events, The last time India won against New Zealand in an ICC event was in the 2003 ODI World Cup.
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Gautam Gambhir during a discussion on the Star Sports show Game Plan, opined that both the teams can win the match. He went on to add even though New Zealand has dominated India previously but it won’t matter when teams enter in World Cup. Former Indian cricketer stated:
“Absolutely 50-50. When you go to such a big tournament, the records are only for the media and the fans. The records do not matter for the players at all and they do not think about them as well.”
Gambhir believes that individual records of players might come into play. However, Teams’ head-to-head records don’t matter in big events. Former Indian opener said:
“Yes, you can think about your individual record. If a player is struggling against a particular bowler, that can be on his mind. But Pakistan having never won against India and India having never won against New Zealand, that never matters.”
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“India can definitely defeat New Zealand, you have the firepower” Gautam Gambhir
Former Indian cricketer, Gautam Gambhir feels that Virat Kohli-led India has full potential to beat New Zealand. As India has sensational talent in the team, he went on to name guys like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Jasprit Bumrah. Gautam asserted:
“India can definitely defeat New Zealand, you have the firepower. You have Jasprit Bumrah, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul – when you have batsmen and bowlers like these, it will not be easy for New Zealand.”
However, Gambhir reckons that The Blackcaps also have firepower in their T20 lineup. He elaborated:
“We cannot say New Zealand are the underdogs because they are a very very well-balanced side. They have Trent Boult and Lockie Ferguson, and they have the firepower in the batting. So, you will have to play good cricket.”
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