New Zealand has been in excellent form of late. They surprised the cricketing world by playing some aggressive cricket in World Cup 2015 which was held in New Zealand and Australia in February and March this year. New Zealand was very impressive in the tournament; reaching the finals of the World Cup history for the first time but lost to Australia. The T20 World Cup will be held in India from March 8 to 3rd April 2016. New Zealand will be one of the contenders of the tournament apart from India, Sri Lanka, and West Indies.
Here we look at the 5 reasons why the runners up of World Cup 2015 can win World T20 2016.
1. Aggressive captain
New Zealand has an aggressive captain in Brendon McCullum. He brings positive changes to the field and also has the ability to create pressure on the opposition team by setting attacking field set up. In the World Cup 2015, Brendon McCullum captained aggressively and the results showed as New Zealand reached the finals of the tournament. He has captained New Zealand in 28 matches winning 12 and losing 15. With an attacking captain, people will see the aggressive captain in World T20. If he can handle the pressure then New Zealand can certainly win this tournament.
2. Outstanding batting line up
New Zealand team has an outstanding batting line-up. The openers Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill are aggressive which can destroy any bowling line up, followed by Kane Willamson who is a top quality batsman with all strokes in his armor, Jimmy Neesham, Corey Anderson, Luke Ronchi are all attacking batsmen. This is an excellent batting line-up and with World T20 tournament to be held in India these batsmen with short boundaries will become more dangerous for the bowling team. New Zealand looked in excellent touch in World Cup 2015 especially Brendon McCullum and Guptil. Their ability to change the course of the match makes them a dangerous batting line-up for the opponents in World T20 in India.
3. Familiar to Indian conditions
New Zealand team is familiar to the Indian conditions because they have played in the Indian Premier League for 8 years. Many players like Brendon McCullum, Corey Anderson, Tim Southee, and Trent Boult are used to the conditions. New Zealand players know the conditions that will be there in World T20 tournaments. The pitches in World T20 will be batting friendly and it will help the stroke makers like Brendon McCullum, Martin Guptill, Kane Willamson, Corey Anderson and many other big hitters. New Zealand team knows the atmosphere at the Indian grounds. Those who have not played in India, they will get to know from those who have played in India.
4. Excellent fielding
New Zealand is considered one of the excellent fielding units in the modern day cricket. They have some excellent fielders like their captain Brendon McCullum, Kane Willamson, Martin Guptill, Tim Southee, Trent Boult. All of them can field anywhere in the field and by their fielding efforts they can save 15 to 20 run. With the World T20 to be held in India where the boundaries will come with ease then, fielding will become an important aspect. New Zealand fast bowlers Tim Southee and Trent Boult have the excellent arm. Brendon McCullum has an excellent ability to put pressure on the batsman and create excellent run outs which could change the course of the game. Martin Guptill too is an excellent fielder. This strong fielding unit can create an impact on the World T20.
5.Hunger to win
New Zealand was the in-form team in the World Cup 2015 as they played some attacking cricket in the tournament till the finals. In the finals, they lost to Australia which was a big disappointment for their team. With the World T20 to be held in 2016 in India, they are grouped with Australia, Pakistan, India, and qualifier. They are looking to take revenge of their defeat in the World Cup 2015 and also looking to win World T20 title for the first time. It will be interesting to see the way they play their cricket in this tournament and bring back the glory. They have participated in all T20 World Cups but have not reached the final of this tournament.