Mike Hesson's sharp analysis : Match up of top players favors NZ in finals against India

[rangeelaraja]

He clearly spoke about how in bowler vs. batsmen match ups

 

1) Henry especially and even Jamieson have the wood over Rohit and Shubman.

2) Santner has the wood over Kohli given his struggles against that kind of spin bowling.

 

He also spoke about how Kuldeep is such a weak link in India's bowling and that he would prefer Rana in place of him...but knows the brainless stubborn Indian team management will prefer to lose than change the XI.

 

 

 

[Ultimate_Game]

I agree with him about most of these points and that's why want to replace Kuldeep with Sundar. You add depth and cover for a top order failure. Kuldeep will get smacked as he does in big matches. Everyone can see that except for team management.

 

Earlier they carried useless Chahal for so long and now they're making the same mistake with Kuldeep. NZ batters will eat him alive, and he's pretty useles sin the field or with the bat. Better to go with Sundar who offers a lot more.

 

Don't want to go with Harshit or Arshdeep as NZ batters will love to face a pacer on Dubai pitch instead of a spinner. Sundar in these conditions >>> Harshit or Arshdeep.

Edited March 6, 2025 by Ultimate_Game

[vvvslaxman]

1 hour ago, Ultimate_Game said:

I agree with him about most of these points and that's why want to replace Kuldeep with Sundar. You add depth and cover for a top order failure. Kuldeep will get smacked as he does in big matches. Everyone can see that except for team management.

 

Earlier they carried useless Chahal for so long and now they're making the same mistake with Kuldeep. NZ batters will eat him alive, and he's pretty useles sin the field or with the bat. Better to go with Sundar who offers a lot more.

 

Don't want to go with Harshit or Arshdeep as NZ batters will love to face a pacer on Dubai pitch instead of a spinner. Sundar in these conditions >>> Harshit or Arshdeep.

 

Sundar makes sense against NZ given that they have Rachin, latham, Santner three lefties. 

[Ultimate_Game]

1 hour ago, vvvslaxman said:

 

Sundar makes sense against NZ given that they have Rachin, latham, Santner three lefties. 

 

Yup, they have a bunch of lefties and Sundar would be perfect against them. Plus he can bowl during PP which Kuldeep can't and also add depth to the batting to go up against a deep kiwi lineup.

[Ultimate_Game]

30 minutes ago, karamchand said:

Rohit century will seal it for us

 

 

[Gollum]

Sundar in place of Kuldeep will seal this match in India's favor. Batting till 9, more problems for their LHBs, another PP option, one less mental midget.....but this TM is risk averse. 

[Gollum]

Against India, Rachin and Latham get extra wings. If Conway plays, so does he. Offie to LHB is a logical matchup. Anyway Kuldeep is too slow for these pitches, has lost the zip (probably too soon after the surgery), not mentally tough and not a good record against NZ either. Sundar will also have a psychological edge after dominating NZ in last year's test series.

[Ultimate_Game]

2 minutes ago, Gollum said:

Sundar in place of Kuldeep will seal this match in India's favor. Batting till 9, more problems for their LHBs, another PP option, one less mental midget.....but this TM is risk averse. 

 

Wish the team makes a bold call for once instead of playing it safe and sticking to "no changes". That's one of the reasons we have faltered in knockouts coz we went with the same team instead of making adjustments.

[Ultimate_Game]

2 minutes ago, Gollum said:

Against India, Rachin and Latham get extra wings. If Conway plays, so does he. Offie to LHB is a logical matchup. Anyway Kuldeep is too slow for these pitches, has lost the zip (probably too soon after the surgery), not mentally tough and not a good record against NZ either. Sundar will also have a psychological edge after dominating NZ in last year's test series.

 

Sundar's selection in Final is a no-brainer

[Gollum]

Just now, Ultimate_Game said:

 

Sundar's selection in Final is a no-brainer

For rational people, yes. But Indian TM thinks a bit different. 

[tapandrun]

Any team reaching finals of icc event is a good team. Nz has sure advantage in fielding ovr Ind, Nz bats really deep and the lower order batter are capable 4/6 hitters and In bowling they have multiple options.

 

Ind has to be ahead of the game , coming back into the match will not be possible.

 

[R!TTER]

14 hours ago, Ultimate_Game said:

Kuldeep will get smacked as he does in big matches. Everyone can see that except for team management.

That's just an assumption, until the game plays out that way you can only speculate 

 

Adding batting depth is a separate matter but you're just reaching here!

[neel roy]

With all matchups available in previous 3 ICC Matches we still hammered them btw. 2023 twice and 2025 now

[cowboysfan]

tell me something we already dont know,on a flat patta in India Kiwis will take our lunch money in an ODI,the only reason we have a chance is the nature of this pitch.

[Frustrated]

4 minutes ago, cowboysfan said:

tell me something we already dont know,on a flat patta in India Kiwis will take our lunch money in an ODI,the only reason we have a chance is the nature of this pitch.

On flat pattas, Ind (without Bumrah) whitewashed the kiwis 3-0 recently in india.  Here is the scorecard(for reference)  https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/new-zealand-in-india-2022-23-1348633/india-vs-new-zealand-3rd-odi-1348648/ball-by-ball-commentary

[cowboysfan]

15 minutes ago, Frustrated said:

On flat pattas, Ind (without Bumrah) whitewashed the kiwis 3-0 recently in india.  Here is the scorecard(for reference)  https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/new-zealand-in-india-2022-23-1348633/india-vs-new-zealand-3rd-odi-1348648/ball-by-ball-commentary

that was more than 2 years ago,since then both our mainstays Rohit and Kohli have declined to the verge of retirement.you cant have 2 black holes in this lineup especially when non of our bowlers can bat.this is still a good team but not on the level of the Kiwis or a full strength aussie team.

[Ultimate_Game]

3 hours ago, R!TTER said:

That's just an assumption, until the game plays out that way you can only speculate 

 

Adding batting depth is a separate matter but you're just reaching here!

 

What reaching? We've seen Kuldeep struggle in the last 2 games against NZ and Aus. He went wicketless the last 2 games conceding runs at 5.5 runs an over, and was the least effective bowler out of the 4. Varun, Axar, Jadeja all looked miles better than him.

 

And it's a pattern we've seen. Cue 2023 ODI WC Final or WT20 Final. We don't have a single instance of Kuldeep doing well in a knockout game. He is like Chahal.

[R!TTER]

Bumrah was a certified choker in KO's till 2024 WT20 - that's 8 years since his debut! ODI's for better or worse have been a grave yard for spinners, having said that Zampa did bowl better than him in 2023 WC for sure. T20 is a lottery so I don't give particular credence for bowlers failing in there.

Edited March 7, 2025 by R!TTER

[Frustrated]

11 minutes ago, R!TTER said:

Bumrah was a certified choker in KO's till 2024 WT20 - that's 8 years since his debut! ODI's for better or worse have been a grave yard for spinners, having said that Zampa did bowl better than him in 2023 WC for sure. T20 is a lottery so I don't give particular credence for bowlers failing in there.

That's a bit harsh on Bumrah.  If we strictly talk about ICC KO games, he did well in WC2023 Final as well. We were defending a below par total.  Aus played out Bumrah's overs and attacked the rest.    (Yes, he was mediocre in SF vs NZ though).   But overall had a good WC.      Whereas Kuldeep continues to be trash despite the helpful conditions on many occassions.  I feel this Final on Sunday could be make or break for his LOI career.   

Edited March 7, 2025 by Frustrated

[Ultimate_Game]

6 minutes ago, R!TTER said:

Bumrah was a certified choker in KO's till 2024 WT20 - that's 8 years since his debut! ODI's for better or worse have been a grave yard for spinners, having said that Zampa did bowl better than him in 2023 WC for sure. T20 is a lottery so I don't give particular credence for bowlers failing in there.

 

Bumrah at least looked like our best bowler. Kuldeep doesn't. When he's the 4th best spinner till the finals, why back him? Bumrah didn't look like our 4th or 3rd best bowler. Neither was he hammered or looked so ineffective as Kuldeep did the last 2 games.

 

In Dubai conditions, Kuldeep should've done a lot better. As a specialist spinner you expect figures of 2/40 at the very least from him. But he has done zilch and has figures worse than a part timer. So why not go with Sundar? There's a reason Sundar is selected and he has done pretty well recently with the ball, and also adds depth to the batting and a better catcher/fielder than Kuldeep.

 

Playing Sundar is a no-brainer and playing Kuldeep would be the very definition of insanity, i.e. "doing the same thing but expecting a different result". If we had followed the same thought process, we probably wouldn't have picked Varun and would probably be knocked out in SF. Time to be pro-active and pick Sundar.