New Zealand's captain Tom Latham in action Photo: PHOTOSPORT
New Zealand's remarkable consistency in 50-over World Cups is down to their ability to adapt to different conditions, Tom Latham said on Saturday ahead of their top-of-the-table clash against hosts India in Dharamshala.
New Zealand reached the final of the 2015 and 2019 editions, falling at the final hurdle, and are top of the standings with a perfect record in four games and a healthy net run rate which sees them edge India, who are also unbeaten.
"Our consistency over World Cups, it's always been about trying to play our brand of cricket as best we can," Latham told reporters ahead of Sunday's game.
"Sticking to our game plan and trying to do that for long periods of time and stay in the game for as long as possible has been the key to what we've done.
"The last two ODI World Cups have been in Australia and England where conditions are reasonably similar to back home, whereas this one's obviously completely different conditions."
New Zealand have had India's number at the World Cup, beating the Asian side five times, with their last victory coming in the 2019 semi-finals.
Latham said India are a "fantastic team" and predicted an exciting clash on Sunday as the tournament's last two unbeaten sides face off.
"They've been playing some great cricket for a long period of time. We've had some great contests in ICC events, but also in bilateral series, whether that be home or away," Latham said.
"We've played each other quite a lot over recent years which has been really cool.
"It's just about trying to play our game plan as best we can and try to execute it as well as we can and if we do that then we know we can beat any team in the world on our day."
Latham also said they were taking inspiration from the All Blacks who advanced to the final of the rugby World Cup on Friday.
"I definitely stayed up for the All Blacks and watched them. It was a great contest. Kiwis support each other wherever that may be around the world," Latham said.
"We're certainly no different in supporting the All Blacks. We've had so much support back home for us here and this World Cup as well. Great to see that they're there for another week and good luck to them." (Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru Editing by Toby Davis)
Cricket-India's balance not the same without injured Pandya against NZ - Dravid
India may not have the same balance they had in their first four World Cup games due to Hardik Pandya's injury but it gives the hosts a chance to experiment with a different combination against New Zealand, coach Rahul Dravid said on Saturday.
All-rounder Pandya, who has taken five wickets in the tournament, will miss Sunday's game in Dharamshala after injuring his ankle in their seven-wicket win over Bangladesh.
"He is an important all-rounder so he helps us balance our squad out really well. But he is going to be missing this game, so we will have to work around that and see what is the best combination," Dravid told reporters.
"We've got to work with the 14 that we've got. We will have to see what works best for these conditions and these wickets. But yeah, probably might not have the kind of balance that we used in the first four games."
Dravid said India were "pretty clear" on their playing 11 for Sunday when they take on table toppers New Zealand but kept his cards close to his chest on the final lineup.
"Hardik being one of those four seamers, we'll just have to see with the combination we can go with. We certainly can go with the three fast bowlers or the three spinners," Dravid added.
"With that kind of combination, we still could play him and play Ash (Ravichandran Ashwin) and move (Ravindra) Jadeja up.
"In some cases, there is Ashwin who has obviously been sitting out, who has great quality as well. So there are two or three combinations we could consider till Hardik gets back."
A key factor in Dharamshala could be the toss with the cold temperatures in the foothills of the Himalayas leading to an earlier onset of dew in the outfield.
"There is nothing to hide in this. We are in Dharamshala, the temperature is cold so there will definitely be dew," Dravid said.
"But you can't think much about it. Of course, you can make tactics and strategies according to that, but you have no guarantee that you will win the toss. So you have to plan for both.
"If you have to bowl in dew, then you have to make a few more runs. You have to play positively and give yourself a cushion."
-REUTERS
