When the 10 captains got together before the start of the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup, one of the questions asked was whether we would see 500 being scored in the game’s history for the first time. Virat Kohli cheekily pointed to England captain Eoin Morgan and had said if anyone was going to, it would be the hosts. “They seem obsessed with getting to 500 before anyone else,” Kohli said in jest. And after that, he went on to make a fascinating observation, about the prospect this World Cup being just a haven for batsmen, where high-scoring games were likely to be the norm.
“I don’t see too much high-scoring in the later half of the tournament. Some teams might get on a roll, but you’ll see 250 defended as well as because of the kind of pressure that comes with it. When you get closer to the knockout phases, that is going to bring greater pressure and no-one is going to go gung-ho from ball one. Generally teams will find a way, but I see pressure playing a massive role.”
Kohli’s comments that day were met with some derision on social media. But we have not had to wait till the later half of the tournament to see what pressure can do in a run-chase at the World Cup stage: Bangladesh almost lived up to the words of the Indian captain by coming close to defending 244 against New Zealand on Wednesday. Incidentally, on the same day, India were made to work for their win as well earlier by South Africa after posting 227/9. Who would have thought we will see a day in which none of the four innings at this World Cup would see scores of 250-plus.
Gritty Bangladesh
Late in the New Zealand run-chase, the camera panned to a group of Kiwi fans at The Oval dancing with joy, cheering and clapping loudly. If you tuned into watch the match at that very instant, you would have assumed it was for a boundary hit by a New Zealand batsman. When in reality, the celebration was for a bouncer bowled by Shaifuddin to Lockie Ferguson that was declared a wide by the umpire. The reason? It helped New Zealand get one run closer to the target when the pressure was building up: Ferguson, after all, was the penultimate batsman in.
That scenario was near unimaginable when Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor stitched together their 13th century partnership in this format, with New Zealand cruising towards a sub-par target set by Bangladesh.
While Taylor was in the middle of the now-usual classy ODI innings, Williamson was nowhere close to his fluent best. In fact, had wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim completed a straightforward runout chance in the 12th over of the innings, Williamson would have been watching the rest of the run-chase from the pavilion.
While that incredible brain-freeze moment from Rahim might have ultimately proved decisive, Williamson did not make life easier for New Zealand when he threw his wicket away in what was seemingly an attempt to improve the side’s Net Run Rate.
Given the format of this World Cup, Bangladesh and New Zealand might well be in contention for the semifinals later in the tournament fighting for one spot and the Kiwi captain’s rash shot can only be explained in that context. (Again, something we would see only at a tournament like the World Cup).
Nervy New Zealand
Either way, that wicket evidently sent a wave of belief coursing through the veins of the Bangladeshis who were soon celebrating the wicket of Tom Latham in the same over by Mehidy Hasan. A few overs later, Taylor’s superb innings met with an anti-climatic end, as he edged one down the leg side to Rahim.
A hop, skip and a few rash shots by the New Zealand batsmen later, we were down to the last few overs with the scoreboard reading 238/8. After the procession of all-rounders had stopped, Bangladesh needed to get just two balls right against the New Zealand tail-enders.
But Ferguson held his nerve for four balls that saw Shaifuddin lose his: two wides and a four followed to pull New Zealand level and Mitchell Santner, the last of those Kiwi allrounders to have walked in to bat, finished the match with a cover drive.
Relief more than delight for New Zealand, while Bangladesh were left ruing their elementary mistakes with the bat and ball despite showing great determination to bring the game this tight.
For all we know, we might not see another game at this year’s World Cup where a sub-250 total produces the excitement to match what we saw between Bangladesh and New Zealand. Irrespective, match No 9 of this World Cup will be remembered at the end of it for the fact that, in the era of 400-400 matches, a 250-250 game still has a charm that is unmatched in ODI cricket.
There is nothing wrong, per se, in a high-scoring thriller that fans enjoy. But the sense of satisfaction of watching a match where run-scoring is neither too easy nor too tough over a period of 100 overs even in this day and age is special. And, with the pressure of succeeding at the World Cup, there is a whole lot more context to such a game.
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