After a toilsome drought for wins, the one-run win over India was as good as it came, something the Kiwis can take to the World T20, which unfolds in Sri Lanka next week. “It has been a long five weeks for us, losing the Test series 2-0 and the Vizag T20 being washed out. We will take a lot of inspiration from this and hope for better performances in the World Cup,” said James Franklin, the last-over protagonist.
But at one point of time, when Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh motored along, a win was a distant possibility for them. “Round about the 13th over, they were coasting to a win. Then we strangled them for a few overs, got Kohli’s wicket and got ourselves back into the game,” said Franklin, who dismissed Virat Kohli in the 14th over.
They put the brakes on India’s impetus, conceding only 25 runs in the next five overs. “The wicket was still good and so we tried to mix things up a little bit. We bowled cross seam and a lot of slower balls, besides dismissing Kohli. That in the end made a lot of difference,” he said.
They were surprised when Dhoni decided to field first after winning the toss. “I have always thought Chepauk is a bat-first wicket and we would have batted first had we won the toss too. So it came as a surprise. Maybe he would have taken the cloud-cover into consideration,” he said.