An unknown pitch and the dew factor have kept New Zealand guessing ahead of the T20 World Cup final on Sunday.
They will also have to counter around 100,000 predominantly India fans, who are expected to fill the Narendra Modi Stadium cheering the home side on.
“Pitches at different stadiums play differently each time. So whatever we see tomorrow, we’ll be trying to adapt to,” Glenn Phillips said after New Zealand’s first practice session on Friday evening.
“If that means lots of runs, then that means lots of runs, but if it means that it’s going to be a little bit of a scrap, we’re up for that as well.”
For a country of just over 5 million people, matching a cricketing superpower like India is an achievement in itself.
“Obviously, we have got a few less people in our country, to have the luxury of choosing from, which means obviously our high performance program has to be very specific and catered for the population that we’ve got,” Phillips said.
“But obviously, the talent that comes out of India is phenomenal. And, you know, they could probably pick three sides that would compete just as evenly in this World Cup.
“So for us to go out
and compete with teams around the world, with such a small population is fantastic,” he said.
The estimated population of Ahmedabad is about 9.27 million while New Zealand’s population is about half of that of the Gujarat city, at roughly 5.3 million.
Phillips was ready for the challenge at a packed stadium.
“We want to go out there and do our best for our country. Obviously, a packed crowd is fantastic. We play to entertain the people and regardless of whether they are supporting us or whether they’re supporting India, it is fantastic for cricket in general.”
Phillips felt being the underdogs help. “We are never given a chance to even be in the semi-finals. Yet, we are always there. So, we will always be David (vs Goliath),” he said.
Ricky Martin show
Pop star Ricky Martin will perform at the closing ceremony of the T20 World Cup before Sunday’s final, the ICC announced on Friday. His special live performance will begin
at 5.30pm.