Gautam Gambhir reflects upon the rivalry in the Oceania continent as the T20I World cup 2021 tournament culminates with the Trans-Tasman neighbours Australia and New Zealand vying for the trophy in the final on Sunday night. He reflects on where does this rivalry stand compared to sub-continent Asian giants India and Pakistan.
Australia doesn’t have a reason to change their XI with Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, and Marcus Stoinis providing them with a fifth bowler and Matthew Wade at No. 7, making it a reasonably deep batting line-up.
New Zealand will have to make at least one change after Devon Conway broke his hand when striking his bat in frustration at his dismissal. They are unlikely to change the balance of the side, though, with five full-time bowlers and James Neesham at No. 6. Tim Seifert is the likely replacement for Conway.
Gautam Gambhir: New Zealand – Australia Rivalry Isn’t As Fierce As The One Between India-Pakistan
New Zealand and Australia will face each other in the much-awaited finale of the 2021 T20 World Cup in a bid to grab their first world title in this format in international cricket. Out of the 14 matches contested between the two sides, nine have been won by the Aaron Finch-led side, while New Zealand has been on the winning side only four times. One match ended in a tie.
“It is difficult to notice the cricketing rivalry between Australia and New Zealand. Like India and Pakistan, they are neighbours too. Like Indians and Pakistanis, Aussies and Kiwis hate losing to each other. While Wikipedia has a page on ‘India Pakistan Cricket Rivalry’, it is more widespread for Aussies and Kiwis,” Gautam Gambhir wrote in his column.
“By no means is the rivalry as fierce as the one between India and Pakistan. Have you wondered why? Are they not cynical enough to create lop-sided advertising campaigns to sell their products riding on what is essentially a cricket match? Or is it economics of the major stakeholders? I have a few thoughts which may not be in the order of relevance but largely my chain of theories.”
India met Pakistan in their opening match of the T20 World Cup in the UAE. The Babar Azam-led Pakistan put up an inspiring show to hammer Virat Kohli’s India by 10 wickets.
“History of India and Pakistan seems to be at the base of the sporting rivalry. Since 1947 we have fought four times and have had numerous skirmishes on the border. This has seeped into sports too, cricket being the frontrunner,” said Gautam Gambhir.
“I sometimes feel that India-Pakistan rivalry has become an industry in itself, which keeps many other verticals warm. No one seems to be in a hurry to reduce the jingoism volume on this one as it generates revenue,” he added.
Shaheen Shah Afridi ran through Team India’s top-order after he got rid of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul in his opening spell. Then he came back to dismiss Virat Kohli, who scored a half-century. He finished with 3-31 after dismissing India’s top scorer, skipper Virat Kohli for 57 in a total of 151-7 in 20 overs.
But in the end, the target of 152 was not enough as Pakistan openers Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam scored 79*, and 68*, respectively, to win the match for their team by 10 wickets with 13 balls to spare.
Gautam Gambhir Backs New Zealand To Win 2021 T20I World Cup
Gautam Gambhir went on to point out the sheer numbers in terms of population that fuel the Indo-Pak cricket rivalry even further and incomparable to any other.
“The combined population of Australia and New Zealand is around three crores while here we are catering to 22 crore in Pakistan and approximately 140 crore at home. The database is chalk and cheese. Even if 10 percent of population of India and Pakistan are engaged, we are talking to five times more the combined number of Australia and New Zealand,” Gautam Gambhir wrote.
“Then there is a small matter of emotions from Indians and Pakistanis. I am not suggesting that Aussie and Kiwis are heartless but we can’t say, “bad luck” or “well played” and share a post-match drink,” the T20 and ODI World Cup winner said.
“It is not only Virat Kohli but most of India wears their heart on their sleeve. Let’s accept it that we are poor losers and that is what that marketing guy exploits when he sucks us into high-pitched, biased promotional campaigns.
“My friends living in Australia tell me that life has been normal for them. Their major worry is how to stay awake as the final begins around midnight their time,” said Gautam Gambhir.
Coming to the T20 World Cup final on Sunday night, Gautam Gambhir went on to back New Zealand.
“I want New Zealand to win as I like their brand of cricket,” said Gautam Gambhir.
Skipper Kane Williamson will aim to reduce that gap and win his second title of the season, having won the World Test Championship (WTC) after beating India in the final earlier this year. Australia has been the more dominant side in recent history, having won all the last four clashes.
The last time New Zealand won a T20I against Australia was in Dharamsala in the 2016 edition of the T20 World Cup staged in India.