Mitchell hopes NZ can ride wave of support as India’s ‘second favourite team’

BENGALURU: New Zealand will embrace their status as Indian cricket fans’ “second favourite team” as they look to navigate a tough Super Eight group and reach the semi-finals of the Twenty20 World Cup, all-rounder Daryl Mitchell said.

The 2021 finalists, who were knocked out in the group stage at the last edition, find themselves facing two must-win matches against former champions Sri Lanka and England after Saturday’s washout against Pakistan.

“We think of ourselves as India’s second favourite team and the support that we get in the country is really cool,” Mitchell told Reuters.

“Hopefully we could turn the sea of blue that we’re used to when we play against India into some black shirts as well.”

New Zealand must first negotiate the turning tracks of Colombo when face Sri Lanka on Wednesday and England two days later, with Mitchell hopeful that his team’s experience can come into play.

“We all grew up in New Zealand on fast, bouncy, grassy wickets,” he added. “I guess the experience that our group has got from playing in these parts of the world over a number of years has helped in how we want to go about it.”

While New Zealand have one eye on their maiden World Cup trophy, Mitchell stressed the importance of staying focused. “It’d be really nice to get over the line and win a trophy, but there’s a lot of cricket to be played between now and then,” the 34-year-old said.

“So for us, the strength is that we stay present in the moment.

We don’t look too far ahead and we don’t make it bigger than what it is.“ Mitchell, who has 1,856 T20 international runs from 100 matches since his debut in 2019, has slotted into the role of a finisher thanks mainly to the explosive form of openers Tim Seifert and Finn Allen.

“The ‘Bash Brothers’ up top have done a great job and long that continue throughout this tournament. We’ve recognised the balance of our side over here in India,” Mitchell said. “The powerplay is very important, but the same goes for the middle (overs) with spin and the death as well. “I have a finisher’s role from the 10 overs onwards - trying to read and adapt to the situation of the game and try and help us win those moments at the back end of the innings.”