New Zealand’s stand-in captain Tom Latham showered praise on his spinners after a convincing win of 99 runs against the Netherlands in their second match of the ongoing World Cup 2023 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad on Monday.
After posting a par-score of 322 runs on the board, the Kiwis were able to skittle out the Dutch for only 223 runs. The Blackcaps’ leading spinner Mitchell Santner was the pick of the bowlers as the left-arm orthodox spinner returned with impressive figures of 5-59 in his quota of 10 overs. This is the first time when a New Zealand spinner has taken a five-wicket haul in a World Cup match.
Furthermore, Rachin Ravindra scalped one wicket in his spell for the Kiwis. Earlier in the match, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, and Tom Latham all scored half-centuries for the Kiwis to take them past the 300-run mark.
Tom Latham said in the post-match presentation, “We would have bowled. We did a great job with the bat. We managed to build partnerships. Put a great score on the board and the bowlers did a fantastic job. Partnership after partnership allowed us to go into the death a little bit earlier. I tried to be proactive with the changes. The spinners were outstanding. Mitch got the rewards. The big boys did a good job upfront. Great to see him (Lockie) back. Every ground you go to, it’s about adapting. We are not too far away (from having the full squad available).”
Santner was awarded the Player of the Match for his fine bowling performance. The left-arm spinner had also returned with impressive figures of 2-37 in the opening clash against England.
He said after the game, “Not too bad, credit to the boys upfront with the bat, they gave us a nice platform. There was a bit of a hole in the middle but we did well to get past 320. It skidded a bit under lights but we contained them and bowled well. It was nice tonight, got a lot of purchase, didn’t bowl my best tonight but happy to get the rewards. We hung in and picked wickets in partnerships, we managed to take wickets like we did against England to slow them down. Today it was slower, held on the pitch and their spinners bowled really well too.”
New Zealand have got off to a great start in the ongoing ODI showpiece as they have won both of their matches. The Kiwis will next take on Bangladesh at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Friday.
