New Zealand know the biggest problem they face in the quest to win a first global men’s white-ball title is an India bowler who’s simply the best in the world
Since bowling India to another World Cup final, he’s been hailed by Sanju Samson as a “once-in-a-generation” bowler, by Faf du Plessis as a “genie” and by Harry Brook as “arguably the best of all-time”.
But New Zealand are trying their best to remind themselves that, actually, Jasprit Bumrah is only human.
Such has been the fanfare surrounding the mighty India paceman that the Black Caps could be forgiven for forgetting that fact as teammates and opponents alike have been lauding Bumrah so effusively in the build-up to Sunday’s T20 World Cup final in Ahmedabad.
New Zealand, with the typical self-effacement of a side so used to being seen as the nearly-men of the global game, are happy to simply concur, as Glenn Phillips says, that Bumrah is just “a fantastic bowler”.
But though Bumrah made all the difference in India’s seven-run win over England in the Mumbai semi-final by conjuring up figures of 1-33 in four superb overs while 499 runs were being smashed all over the Wankhede Stadium, Phillips was happy to wonder aloud if he might just be up for an off-day.
“A fantastic bowler, he’s got so many variations, hits the block-hole at the death incredibly well,” Phillips told reporters in Ahmedabad.
“But he’s human as well. He is allowed to have a bad day, as are the rest of us. So, hopefully, we have a good day against him.
“A bowler is allowed to miss, and if he happens to miss, we do have to put it away. That also means that if he does bowl well, we do have to, I guess, accommodate for other things and adapt.”
The good news for New Zealand is that they had some success against the 32-year-old maestro earlier this year during the T20 series in which, though they lost 4-1, Bumrah went for nearly nine-and-a-half runs per over while only picking up four wickets.
“We had a really good trip against him in the bilateral series,” recalled Phillips.
But it’s not just Bumrah that New Zealand have to worry about.
Facing potentially 100,000 India fans in the Narendra Modi Stadium seems guaranteed to make them feel pretty friendless, yet Phillips just shrugged: “For us, we just go out there and enjoy it.
“We play to entertain the people and whether they’re supporting us or whether they’re supporting India, it’s fantastic for cricket in general.”
2026 Men’s T20 World Cup knockout stage
Semi-final 1: New Zealand beat South Africa by nine wickets (Thursday, 12.30am AEDT)
Semi-final 2: India beat England by seven runs (Friday, 12.30am AEDT)
Final: India v New Zealand, Ahmedabad (Monday, 12.30am AEDT)
All matches broadcast on Amazon’s Prime Video
