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'It's Not A Banana Peel Game'- Sunil Gavaskar Warns India Of Kiwi Challenge

image-lo10ilvtIndia will take on NZ today [AP]

Sunil Gavaskar upheld New Zealand as one of the contenders for the ICC World Cup 2023 by denouncing claims of Tom Latham-led side being tournament dark horses who pose a banana-peel challenge to Team India at major tournaments. The legend highlighted BlackCaps' mighty impressive World Cup record versus the Indians and hailed them as a "formidable" unit. 

Speaking to India Today, Gavaskar dismissed suggestions that India's coming World Cup clash in Dharamshala against the Kiwis on Sunday (October 22) is a "banana-peel" fixture, reminding cricket lovers that the tag would be true only if India were losing to a side that had no business defeating them even on an off-day. 

The Kiwis have an excellent track record in World Cups against India, managing to keep the Men In Blue at bay since losing the Super 6s clash of the 2003 edition in South Africa. Overall, too, they stand 5-3 from eight World Cup encounters over 12 editions of the competition against the Indians. 

While the title has continued to elude them, New Zealand boasts of eight semifinal entries and two-time runners-up tag in their CV at World Cups. They also tactically have the conditions firmly in favour of the latest encounter in Dharamsala. 

Gavaskar Lauds New Zealand's World Cup History 

"It is not a banana-peel game. A banana-peel game is where you're playing a side you're expected to beat but it suddenly plays out of its skin. New Zealand is not that, New Zealand is a formidable team. New Zealand have been in the finals of the last two World Cups and they have been in the semifinal eight times," Gavaskar stated.

When asked why India have failed to beat New Zealand for two decades at an ICC tournament, Gavaskar said: 

"I think it is because New Zealand always raise the level of their game at World Cups while India doesn't sometime have the run of the luck. Take the 2019 semifinal, for example, India batted on the second day when it was overcast."

"The ball swung more for the New Zealand seamers than it did for the Indian seamers the previous day. But these are the ifs and buts of the game that we talk about. Clearly, New Zealand have the sense of belief that they can upstage India's top-order batters."

Gavaskar called Rohit Sharma and company to be mindful of the new-ball threat posed by the Kiwis, calling it a point of the contest where they've tended to "falter" against New Zealand.