New Zealand and the Netherlands have both faced a similar situation in this year's ICC World T20 - the wrath of Dale Steyn and the guiles of Imran Tahir -- much to their detriment. Both teams suffered defeats from the jaws of victory to South Africa, and now the two sides will look to put that record straight when they face off in another Group 1 World T20 2014 contest in Chittagong.
[Catch the report HERE]
With the fight for a place in the semifinals hotter than the mercury levels in Bangladesh, New Zealand, who have won one - against England, and lost the other - against South Africa -- will know nothing but a win over the Netherlands will do, and that too preferably a big win to up the net run rate.
However, having watched the good and the bad of the Dutch in this tournament, the Kiwis will wonder heading into the game on Saturday, which team will show up - the one that was bowled out for a record low score by Sri Lanka, or the one that vanquished Ireland in some style and nearly, nearly embarrassed South Africa.
"The way the Dutch play is I think incredibly courageous, rocks or diamonds, so to speak, they're either going to come off or they're not," New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum said.
"It takes balls to play like that, hence they're a dangerous team to play against, because they don't fear the losing side of things, or if it doesn't work out. We've prepared well, hopefully if we play well we should be strong enough but you never know in this game."
Yes, in the T20 format it is all about which team, or indeed individual, is better on the day - one outstanding performance and you could be facing a big defeat.
Having said that though, New Zealand should have enough firepower to see Netherlands through. South Africa, with their iffy batting, made heavy weather of the match against the Dutch; but if New Zealand perform like they can, with the pace bowlers they have, and the swashbuckling batsmen, supplemented by the solidity of Kane Williamson, the Kiwis should take home two points.
"For us, we've got to play two good games of cricket, we've got to beat Netherlands well tomorrow and Sri Lanka two days after that," McCullum added on Friday. "If we don't, then we don't deserve to be here at the back end of the tournament.
Where to Watch Live:
ICC World T20 2014: New Zealand vs Netherlands Live TV and Streaming Information (Match starts 3.30 pm local time, 3 pm IST, 9.30 am GMT, 5.30 am ET)
Country | TV Broadcaster |
India | Star Sports 1, Star Sports 3, Star Sports HD1 |
US and Latin America | ESPN |
UK and Ireland | Sky Sports |
Middle East and North Africa | OSN Sports |
Canada | Sportsnet |
Australia | Fox Sports |
Sub Saharan Africa & South Africa | SuperSport |
New Zealand | Sky Sport |
Europe | EuroSport |
Pakistan | PTV and Ten Sports |
Sri Lanka | CSN |
Bangladesh | Bangladesh TV, Maasranga TV and Gazi TV |
Country | Live Streaming Information |
India | HERE |
US | HERE |
UK | HERE |
Middle East | HERE |
Canada | HERE or HERE |
Australia | HERE |
South Africa & Sub Saharan Africa | HERE |
Latin America | HERE |
New Zealand | HERE |
Europe | HERE |
Pakistan | HERE or HERE |
Sri Lanka | HERE |
"I think if we can play to our potential then the gap between the teams tomorrow should take care of that run-rate stuff. If we don't play well, we could get beat. Run rate may become a factor but you can't be too consumed by that, ultimately you've got to look at how you want to play and play to that potential. If you don't, you leave luck in other people's hands."
For the Netherlands, who have received some rare coverage back home for good and bad reasons, it will be another match without anything to lose. Skipper Peter Borren, born in Christchurch, said Holland are determined to upset one big team in this World T20 before bowing out, and New Zealand will do well to make sure they are not that team.
Team news: New Zealand: McCullum will have to ponder on a couple of possible changes, the main one being the inclusion of an extra spinner. The seam-oriented attack has not exactly been successful for the Kiwis so far, with the bowlers, both times, conceding 170 or more. Anton Devcich, the spinning all-rounder, or Ronnie Hira, the left-arm spinner, could get a look-in.
Netherlands: The Dutch have gone with pretty much the same team for the entire tournament, and it is unlikely that they will consider making a change, particularly after the admirable manner in which they bounced back from the heavy defeat against Sri Lanka, by giving South Africa a real-old scare.
Key men: New Zealand: Kane Williamson has been outstanding opening the batting, but the right-hander will hope to add a few runs with Martin Guptill at the top of the innings to give the Kiwis a roaring start. If they bowl first, the pace bowlers will be under pressure to take early wickets.
Netherlands: Stephan Myburg played a blinder against South Africa, and will target another similar innings against New Zealand. Ahsan Malik, who picked a five-for in his last game, is the highest wicket-taker in the ICC World T20 so far, and the bowler will want to show again why.
Expected lineups: New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson, Brendon McCullum (capt), Ross Taylor, Colin Munro, Corey Anderson, Luke Ronchi, Nathan McCullum, Tim Southee, Kyle Mills, Mitchell McClenaghan.
Netherlands: Stephan Myburg, Michael Swart, Wesley Barresi, Tom Cooper, Peter Borren (capt), Ben Cooper, Mudassar Bukhari, Logan Van Beek, Pieter Seelar, Timm Van Der Gugten, Ahsan Malik.