Ruthless Kiwis aim to strengthen semifinal chances

A ruthless New Zealand will be eyeing to strengthen their semifinal chances with a solid knockout punch on an already struggling Scotland in a Group 2 Super 12 match of the ICC T20 World Cup in Dubai today.

The Kiwis have a potent bowling attack and in both the games, they have showed why their bowlers are rated so highly. Spinners Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner were sensational against India while the pacers, led by star seamer Trent Boult, too contributed handsomely.

In the batting department, Daryl Mitchell has embraced his role as an opener. Along with veteran Martin Guptill, the two make a formidable pair. After the failure in the tournament opener, the unit was not tested much against India.

The biggest worry, however, remains Williamson's fitness. He is still not hundred per cent and continues to play with an elbow injury. But resting the skipper, a pillar of the New Zealand side, from either of the two games would be a risk the Kiwis may not be willing to take.

New Zealand need to win their remaining three matches to make the last four, so the Black Caps can ill afford to slip up. They will also be eyeing dominant wins to improve their net run rate which could come into play later on. Having already played Pakistan and India, they're expected to breeze past Scotland and Namibia while the clash against Afghanistan could be tricky.  Scotland, on the other hand, entered the Super 12s stage high on confidence, having beaten all their opponents in the qualifiers but things have gone awry for the Scots as they slumped to back-to-back defeats at the hands of Namibia and Afghanistan.