The biggest upset of the Cricket World Cup or just another speedbump on India's path to ultimate victory? The Black Caps are hoping it'll be the former on Wednesday night as they take on the host nation at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, but they haven't had it all their own way in the tournament so far. In fact, this is arguably the rockiest route they've travelled to a World Cup semi, starting brilliantly with four wins then following it up with four losses.
Let's have a look at the Black Caps' 2023 Cricket World Cup:
Game 1: Black Caps 283 for 1 (Conway 152*, Ravindra 123*) def. England 282 for 9 (Root 77, Henry 3-48, Santner 2-37) by nine wickets
The perfect start, the perfect revenge for what happened at Lords four years ago. It's fair to say not too many people were expecting such a dominant performance in the opening game of the tournament, that featured two unbeaten tons from Rachin Ravindra and Devon Conway. Ravindra picked up a wicket and man of the match, to start off what would become an incredible run of form. The only bad part was that the total crowd at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad was about 110,000 less than what the ground holds.
Rachin Ravindra of New Zealand batting Jos Buttler of England keeping wicket Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Game 2: Black Caps 322 for 7 (Young 70, Latham 53, van der Merwe 2-56) def. Netherlands 223 (Ackermann 69, Santner 5-59, Henry 3-40) by 99 runs
The Black Caps took advantage of a turning wicket, with Mitch Santner grabbing five wickets after Will Young and Tom Latham set up a total that was always going to be too much for the Dutch. Ravindra chipped in with a half century, and while there were a couple of handy partnerships the methodical nature of the Black Caps' attack meant that it was a comfortable victory overall.
Game 3: Black Caps 248 for 2 (Conway 89*, Williamson 78, Mustafizur 1-36) def. Bangladesh 245 for 9 (Mushfiqur 66, Shakib 41*, Ferguson 3-49) by eight wickets
The first bit of bad news struck the Black Caps in this one. While it was a comfortable win and Kane Williamson returned to action with an innings of 78 after a long injury layoff, he would have to leave the field after breaking his thumb. It was a major blemish in an otherwise business-like performance, the Black Caps reduced Bangladesh to 56/4 early and set themselves up with a very gettable total, the win moving them to three wins from three games.
New Zealand captain Kane WIlliamson injured and retired hurt for 78 during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 between New Zealand and Bangladesh at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium (Chepauk) in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Friday, 13 October 2023. Copyright Photo: Raghavan Venugopal / www.photosport.nz Photo: Copyright © Photosport Ltd 2023 www.photosport.nz
Game 4: Black Caps 288 for 6 (Phillips 71, Latham 68, Naveen 2-48, Omarzai 2-56) def. Afghanistan 139 (Rahmat 36, Omarzai 27, Santner 3-39, Ferguson 3-19) by 149 runs
Afghanistan have left the 2023 Cricket World Cup having won the hearts of many for their brave performances and upset wins, but this was certainly not one of them. The Black Caps were helped by some butter-fingered fielding, with the Afghans dropping five chances and bombing a run out, then blasted 104 off the last 10 overs to set up a defendable total. Lockie Ferguson and Santner made sure the Afghans got nowhere near it with three wickets each. But that would be the high-water mark for the next little while.
Game 5: India 274 for 6 (Kohli 95, Rohit 46, Jadeja 39*, Ferguson 2-63) def. Black Caps 273 (Mitchell 130, Ravindra 75, Shami 5-54, Kuldeep 2-73) by four wickets
Despite a big ton from Daryl Mitchell, the Black Caps couldn't do much to stop India rolling over the top of their unbeaten record. Mohammed Shami ripped through the top order with a five-for, while the Indian batsmen simply played their roles to knock off a total that probably needed another 50 runs to be competitive. Whatever the Black Caps learned in defeat they can use in the semi-final, though.
New Zealand batsman Daryl Mitchell. Photo: Photosport
Game 6: Australia 388 (Head 109, Warner 81, Phillips 3-37, Boult 3-77) def. Black Caps 383 for 9 (Ravindra 116, Neesham 58, Mitchell 54, Zampa 3-74) by five runs
It's hard to know what was more gutting about this one: going to sleep having watched Travis Head and David Warner plunder 118 off the first 10 overs or waking up to see that the Black Caps had fallen agonisingly short in an epic run chase. The Aussies would have got even more had Glenn Phillips not rolled his arm over and picked up 3 for 37, including 30 dot balls. By now everyone was starting to pay attention to everything Ravindra was doing, his 116 would've felt a lot sweeter if it were in a winning effort.
Game 7: South Africa 357 for 4 (van der Dussen 133, de Kock 114, Miller 53*, Southee 2-77) def. Black Caps 167 (Phillips 60, Young 33, Maharaj 4-46, Jansen 3-31) by 190 runs
So, this is the real outlier. While the other losses at this World Cup had redeeming features, this was a total hiding from start to finish as first Quentin de Kock and Rassie van der Dussen plundered their way to centuries, then the Black Caps batters just couldn't get anything going in reply.
South Africa's Gerald Coetzee celebrates the wicket of New Zealand's Will Young. Photo: Photosport
Game 8: Pakistan 200 for 1 (Zaman 126*, Babar 66*, Southee 1-27) def. Black Caps 401 for 6 Ravindra 105, Williamson 95, Wasim 3-60) by 21 runs (DLS)
How do you score 401 in 50 overs and lose? While it's tempting to blame it on Duckworth and Lewis, it's probably a fair assumption that the Pakistanis would have gunned the Black Caps' total down anyway given how rapidly they were batting. Ravindra once again raised his bat in the rain-affected result, so the equation became clear to the Black Caps that a semi-final spot rested on the next game.
Game 9: Black Caps 172 for 5 (Conway 45, Mitchell 43, Mathews 2-29) def. Sri Lanka 171 (Perera 51, Boult 3-37, Ravindra 2-21) by five wickets
And they couldn't have done it in more comprehensive fashion. Williamson returned but didn't trouble the scorers too much, but it's fair to say his presence alone was a big factor in the win. The game was over before the disappointing Sri Lankans had even reached 100, meaning that while the Black Caps had been through a tough stretch in their last four games, they can at least run into the semi-final with some momentum. It's unlikely India will be as meek as this Sri Lankan effort, however.
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