This was the first time in the last 15 years that the Kiwis had entered the race for an ICC title without Tim Southee and Trent Boult. Although their batting was supported by the experience of Kane Williamson and Tom Latham, the Kiwi bowling was particularly weak in this regard.
It was not only Matt Henry’s good fortune, but the Kiwis also had the grace of fate at the right moment that Kyle Jamieson, Will O’Rourke and Nathan Smith got a new leader from their ranks who took the entire burden of the pace department on their shoulders.
The role of spinners was key in the Kiwis’ reach to the final, but the part that Matt Henry played in it was also invaluable. So where all the help of the conditions fell to the spinners, Matt Henry’s stature remained prominent.
Henry has been demonstrating the skill of seaming and swinging required to take wickets with the new ball since the first day of his career, but for the past few years, the change in pace and variety of cutters he has been experimenting with on the old ball in the death overs is enviable to all seamers.
Although winning the crucial toss of the final was a blessing for the Kiwis, Henry’s unavailability was a much bigger shock, and the Indian crowd’s apparent joy at the news that the Kiwi team was without its biggest winner in the most important match was completely justified.
Rohit Sharma’s decisions did not allow the Kiwis to settle down at any stage of the innings.
The strength of Indian bowling is much stronger than that of the Indian batting line, which is much superior to other teams in pursuing targets.
To set a strong target in front of this mountain batting line, it was necessary not only to make the Kiwi batsmen impress the Indian spin, but here they also had to score at least twenty runs above the competitive total, so that later the economy of Henry’s share would be complete.
Hardik Pandya’s bowling is actually the strength of India that creates space for two regular spinners in this XI and here too it was the strength of India that the technical balance of the team that landed with two front-line spinners was amazing.
And then in this abundance of resources, Rohit Sharma has the brain that, unlike his predecessor captain, makes the right bowling changes at the right moments and wins the battle of those moments. Here too, he did not let any Kiwi partnership cross a limit.
This was a new pitch and despite Dubai’s long boundaries, a total of around 270 could have been set here, but Rohit Sharma’s decisions did not allow the Kiwis to settle down at any stage of the innings.
“This is the highest moment for Indian cricket in the last decade that the leader of the global cricket market has finally won another ODI title.”
But still, the figure that the Kiwis were able to achieve with Bracewell’s efforts was not only enough to add tension to the match but could also have been a winning combination if the Kiwis had had even a little experience in their pace attack.
When Rohit Sharma started the innings, he knew that with every step forward, the game would become less exciting and chasing such a complex target would be possible only when he would fully attack the new ball in the first power play.
The novice Kiwi pacers remained a step behind Rohit here and the Indian captain gave his team such a solid platform in the power play itself that later when Kohli also returned empty-handed, there was no anxiety in the Indian dressing room and the match moved forward in the right direction.
With the depth available to the Indian batting, it was a naive idea that the spin of Glenn Phillips and Richin Ravindra would play a decisive role in the match. Bracewell and Santner kept creating their share of chances but where could a lead on one edge be enough to win the match?
While the Kiwi bowling attack was deprived of its leader, Rohit Sharma emerged as the leader of his batting line and won another ICC trophy by playing the most important innings of the tournament.
This is the highest moment of Indian cricket in the last one decade that the head of the global cricket market has finally won another ODI title. This is also a good omen for ODI cricket that perhaps under this pretext, ODI cricket can also come into the ICC’s priorities where now the entire flow seems to be going towards T20.
By winning the second ICC title, Rohit Sharma has joined the list of legendary captains. But while this is an argument for Rohit’s leadership skills and cricketing greatness, it is also a matter of thinking for the Indian Cricket Board that if this team had come under Rohit’s supervision when Dhoni left, what would have been bad?
