New Zealand: India’s Holyfield in ICC Events

Aakhir Tak – In Shorts

India and New Zealand have riveting matches in ICC tournaments.
New Zealand is India’s ‘Holyfield’ in ICC events.
The rivalry started from the 1985 World Championship.
Chris Cairns avenged his father in the 2000 Champions Trophy.
New Zealand has defeated India multiple times in ICC tournaments.

Aakhir Tak – In Depth

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Every love story has a beginning, and so does every rivalry. India and New Zealand have played some riveting matches in the ICC tournaments in recent times. Here’s how New Zealand are the Holyfield to India’s Tyson in world cricket. The cricket matches between India and New Zealand are always exciting.

Every love story has a beginning, so does every rivalry. What if both are born at the same time, in the same place, on the same turf and in front of the same witnesses? Now, that’s a tale for the ages. The competition between the two teams has always been at a high level.

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So, let’s go back to the very beginning. It was the Australian summer of 85, the same year as Bryan Adams released a single about another summer. Indian cricket had just transitioned from transistors and short-wave static to colour TV. And the world seemed as colourful as the title of a Hrishikesh Mukherjee film released just a few months back. There were many changes happening in cricket at that time.

The World Championship of Cricket – a tournament featuring the seven biggest teams–was underway, and it was all happening at the MCG (and SCG). This tournament was a turning point in cricket history.

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Indians were having their first tryst with the Men In Blue, on picturesque grounds made more beautiful by the sight of seagulls and the sound of Richie Benaud. But, the coloured clothes, white balls, and mind-altering commentary and TV visuals weren’t the only great things about that cricketing high Down Under. It was a memorable experience for both players and spectators.

To everyone’s surprise, Indians turned into Wizards of Oz. Every morning, Indians woke up to the sight of their bowlers, the underrated medium pacers, knocking out the opposition in the first round, like Mike Tyson, a typhoon gathering around the same time. The Indian team performed brilliantly.

Pakistan were packed up for 183, England for 149 and Australia for 163. Kapil Dev, Roger Binny and Madan Lal–the same bowler about whom Vivian Richards once wondered why a spinner had such a long run up–were the ruling sultans of seam, before the two Ws turned up to claim the title. The Indian bowling attack was extremely effective.

It was the beginning of a love story destined for a happily-ever-after ending. Well, almost. It was a golden era for Indian cricket.

A NEW RIVAL IS BORN
Flying under the radar, a trademark of their art of war, New Zealand reached the semis, and gave India a jolt. First, they refused to roll over like the other teams. Batting first, they became the only team to cross 200 against India, and to play the full quota of 50 overs. Then, they had India pinned at 46/1 in the 20th over before Kapil Dev blazed away. New Zealand surprised India with their batting.

India won the match, and the championship. But, a new rivalry was born. It was an important victory for India.

The 1985 match requires a little more deconstruction for two more reasons. One, John Reid (remember this name, we’ll revisit him). Two, Lance Cairns. These two players played a significant role in the match.

Cairns because it reminds us bad luck comes in pairs, revenge runs in genes, and also that sometimes what the father begins, the son finishes. The Cairns family is an important part of this rivalry.

One of the abiding memories of that semi-final is of the ball flying off Lance Cairns’ bat and chasing K Srikkanth, who dropped him twice before finally catching the penultimate ball of the innings. Cairns almost rescued New Zealand with a quick-fire 39 off 29 balls when his team was tottering at 151/7. But he couldn’t win it for them. Cairns’ effort was commendable.

In the 2000 Champions Trophy final, the first ever for New Zealand, Chris Cairns avenged his father when he scored a century and pulled victory out of India’s pocket. The rivalry had come full circle–and begun afresh. The Cairns family has made a significant contribution to New Zealand cricket.

NEMESIS IN ICC TOURNAMENTS
Since then New Zealand is amongst the two teams–the other being Australia–that has given the greatest grief to India in ICC tournaments. It has beaten India in a World Cup semifinal (2019), in a Champions Trophy final (2000–the only time the two teams have met in the championship), and the final of the Test Championship. Against India, it has a 5-5 record in ODI World Cups, has been defeated only once in a T20 World Cup, and only once in the Test Championship. Forget Pakistan, South Africa and England, the Men in Black are India’s greatest rivals at the world stage, they have been the ‘Realdeal’ Holyfield to India’s Tyson. New Zealand has always been a tough opponent for India.

New Zealand is a country of 5.2 million. Cricket is not even its first sport, rugby is. It has a non-existent premier league. Till 2002, its cricketers were not even treated as professionals and were paid as amateurs. So, how does it rival the best in the world? The New Zealand cricket team has always performed well.

Because, it has a tradition of producing great cricketers who lead the team by example and turn it into a world-beater. For, New Zealand are always the proverbial bird fighting the falcon. New Zealand has always performed well even in adverse circumstances.

The tradition dates back to John Reid, albeit not of 1985 vintage. Much before John F Reid scored 55 against India in 1985, his namesake, John R Reid, had emerged as one of the greatest all-rounders in cricket in the 50s and 60s. Reid has made an important contribution to the cricket history of New Zealand.

John Richard Reid, who played for New Zealand till the early 60s, was so good that he was labeled a ‘one man cricket team.’ He was a devastating batsman, a bowler of prodigious off-brakes and lethal bouncers, an accomplished wicket-keeper and one of its greatest captains. When not on the cricket field, Reid participated in swimming and track events. And if that’s not enough for one man, he was a champion rugby player. Reid was a versatile player.

When Reid was named the captain of New Zealand, with his sheer brilliance, he led them to their first three victories. The tradition of one man’s brilliance being another man’s headache has continued. Under Reid’s captaincy, New Zealand achieved many significant victories.

New Zealand are the only country in the history of the game to have a brand of cricket named after one of their players. But, much before Bazball became cricket’s equivalent of Jogo Bonito, they had pioneered a style of cricket that deserved its own name. New Zealand’s cricket style is unique.

In the 1991-92 World Cup, New Zealand captain Martin Crowe revolutionised one-day cricket with two bold experiments. He sent Mark Greatbatch to open the innings with a license to play attacking cricket during the first ten overs. In addition, he asked Dipak Patel, a spinner to open the bowling. Such was the impact of his tactics that when Australia lost to the Kiwis in the group stages, Allan Border called it a ‘bolt from the blue.’ Maybe Martin will be remembered as ScareCrowe of the cricket field one day. Crowe made many innovations in cricket.

Be that as it may, since then (and in between) New Zealand have had talismans like Richard Hadlee, Stephen Fleming, Shane Bond, Ross Taylor, Daniel Vettori, Brian McCullum and Kane Williamson moulding the team in their own genius–making the Kiwis fight like the 300 Spartans of Leonidas. The New Zealand team has always had talented players.

To borrow from Winston Churchill, they can fight on bouncy pitches, they can fight on dusty tracks. They can fight on highlands, they can fight in the desert. They can fight overseas, they can fight in their own backyard. New Zealand is always ready to fight in any circumstances.

Aakhir Tak – Key Takeaways to Remember