Don’t count New Zealand out, they turn it up in ICC events and got multiple match-winners: Wasim Jaffer

Courtesy of a phenomenal century from Glenn Phillips, the New Zealand team managed to score 167 runs in 20 overs against Sri Lanka at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). The Kiwis were hammered by the Lankan bowlers in the powerplay but they showed their class and grit to overcome the problem and eventually defeated Dasun Shanaka and company by 65 runs to win their second match in the ongoing T20 World Cup.

Now, be it with the bat or with the ball, the New Zealand team has shown enough quality already to impress the former India international Wasim Jaffer. The 44-year-old believes that Kane Williamson and company are on the verge of qualifying for the semi-finals of the competition and can do well in the tournament as they have multiple match-winners who can change the complexion of the game.

“New Zealand, as we all know, they turn it up in ICC events. So, you don’t count them out. They put their names out there. They are likely to go through to the semi-finals, which they always do in ICC events and they have the ingredients. They have got the batters, and they have got multiple match-winners. In the last game, we saw Finn Allen and Devon Conway do well and in this game, we have Glenn Phillips and Trent Boult. So, they have got multiple match-winners. So, that’s going to be dangerous for the teams they are going to play (against)," said the former cricketer on 'BatBricks7 presents Run Ki Runneeti show on CricTracker'.

Jaffer hails Mitchell Santner for his all-round brilliance

All-rounder Mitchell Santner pulled off a terrific performance for New Zealand when they defeated the Lankan Lions on Saturday, October 29. At first, the 30-year-old played a brilliant unbeaten cameo of 11 runs from five balls and later picked up two wickets giving away just 21 runs in his four overs. With that performance, Santner impressed Wasim Jaffer who later hailed him in the same show.

“Santner is a great cricketer. I mean, he’s not just a left-arm spinner. He’s tall, so he makes it hard. It’s not really easy to play him and he’s got great numbers against left-handed batters. For a left-arm spinner, it’s not really easy and he bowls really well to left-handers and he’s a very good lower-order batsman. He has won them games on his batting. So, even after the top bowlers like Boult and Southee and Lockie Ferguson, they have got really good spinners like Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner, which makes up for a really strong attack,” Jaffer said on the same show.

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