New Zealand Showed That It Can Be A Giant-Slayer In The Big Battles

It is time for the hardest test now, and Williamson would have factored in a SWOT analysis of the imminent summit clash.

- K.C. Vijaya Kumar

The World Cup wends it way back to London with its history, bustle, the subterranean maze of metro trains, a dry heat of 24 degrees above and the Wimbledon ballet of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. After 47 matches, including four washed-out ventures, in a long-winding campaign that lasted a month and a fortnight, England and New Zealand have withstood the vagaries of form and will face off in the final at Lord’s on Sunday.

In the pre-tournament buzz, England was expected to press hard for the title while New Zealand stayed in the dark-horse corner. But as they consistently do in big ticket events, the Black Caps persevered, progressed steadily, stayed under the radar, coped with losses and when it came to the big battles, showed that it can be a giant-slayer.

Flummoxing the best

South Africa felt the heat and succumbed in the 2015 edition’s semifinal at Auckland. In the latest version, it was India’s turn to walk into an opponent, who firmly believed that contests are won on the basis of what is being done ‘now’. History’s sheets and weighty statistics may not have many alluring details of New Zealand’s cricketing skills but it is a team that has flummoxed the best.