Photo Credit: ICC
For someone who has a poor record in the UAE, Martin Guptill looked remarkably at ease swatting sixes into the Dubai crowd against Scotland.
The New Zealand opener smashed seven maximums in a swashbuckling 93 from just 56 balls, the kind of fireworks we have come to expect from the Black Caps star, just not in this part of the world.
Coming into the ICC Men’s World Cup 2021, Guptill had mustered just 126 runs in nine T20 innings at an average of 14 and striking at just a touch over a run-a-ball.
And after failing to convert starts of 17 and 20 against Pakistan and India it looked like the 35-year-old’s lean run in the Middle East would continue.
However, his clean ball striking sent Scotland’s bowlers to all parts and saw him join India captain Virat Kohli as the second man to break the 3,000 T20I runs barrier.
Guptill’s taste for sixes, perhaps driven by a desire not to do too much running in sweltering conditions at the Dubai International Stadium, saw him become the first man to register 150 international maximums in the shortest form of the game.
Deprived of what would have been a deserved ton, Guptill ran out of steam at the backend of his knock but New Zealand are finding form at just the right time.
Kane Williamson’s men are aiming to join Pakistan, who inflicted their sole defeat of the campaign so far, in qualifying for the semi-finals from Group 2 of the Super 12s and will be confident of overcoming Namibia before a potentially vital decider against Afghanistan.
And if the Black Caps are to make a serious dent in the tournament, Guptill will need to continue to fire at the top of the order, alongside his new partner Daryl Mitchell.
There is no substitute for experience and Guptill has bucketloads of it, he was the only survivor in the New Zealand team from the last time they faced Scotland back in 2009.
He also has World Cup pedigree, finishing as his side’s top run scorer in the 2016 edition with 140 in four innings at an average of 35 and a rapid strike rate of 157.30.
Before this World Cup began, Guptill said: “Obviously I’d have liked to have gone better [in the UAE], but you know that’s all in the past now.
“I think I was our top run-scorer in the T20 World Cup. I can draw some on that experience and that confidence that I’ve been able to do before.
“So, I’m just looking forward to going out and doing my thing and just making sure I’m as positive as I can be at the top of the order.”
Guptill was certainly true to his word against Scotland and gave the rest of the cricketing world a timely reminder that New Zealand, who have so far gone largely under the radar, mean business.
Name of Author: ICC
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the global governing body for cricket, founded in 1909 as the Imperial Cricket Conference. Renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, it became the ICC in 1987. Headquartered in Dubai, UAE, the ICC has 108 member nations.
