There is nothing that is set in stone.
As India looked forward to beating New Zealand to advance to the ICC Cricket World Cup Finals, they displayed their usual selves – dominant, confident, and not-really-in-danger. The odds were in their favor – 98 to 2. Definitely one-sided.
Few would have challenged this, even avid New Zealand cricket fans. After 50 overs for the Kiwis, the 239-8 solidified their fears that this would be the end of the line for their team.
But just as fate would have it, and equally as unexpected, India would lose the match by a mere 18 runs.
The entire match was supposed to take place on Tuesday, July 9. However, the rain had forced the game to be postponed and continued the following day. Some players blamed the weather contributing to their loss because it affected their momentum.
Thousands of fans in the Indian’s cricket uniform and faces painted with the Indian flag filled up the stadium, expecting their team to win. People came to watch Rohit Sharma deliver another century, and Virat Kohli, the best batsman, bring India another victory and world cup title. This is where New Zealand thrives the most – when people expect them to lose, when people expect that their performance will be subpar, they turn the tables.
“It’s a different feeling to last time,” New Zealand captain Kane Williamson said. “We’ve had to skin it over the round-robin, so it’s been quite different. A lot of heart has been shown by the guys so far but we’re keeping our feet on the ground. It was a great semifinal and we’re happy to be on the right side of it.”
If statistics were to be the basis of the match, then surely India would have come out on top. But the 2% that New Zealand had to win the match prevailed.
