Bengaluru: New Zealand have lost three games on the trot and middle-order batter Daryl Mitchell on Friday said that the side needs to pursue the 'Black Caps' way of cricket to find their feet again in the ongoing 2023 World Cup. After winning their first four matches, the Kiwis were defeated by India, Australia and South Africa making their games against Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Bengaluru must-win affairs.
"For us, it's just showing up and playing the Black Cap style of cricket that we want to play. I'm sure if we can control those little things and do them for long periods of time, then we'll go a long way to getting some outcomes which we want. Hopefully, it means we're in the mix coming into the tournament," said Daryl Mitchell.
New Zealand is currently fourth on the points table with eight points and have two games left. If they win both these games, they can make the semi-finals, without any pressure.
"We're a small country, down the bottom of the Earth, and for us it's fighting for every ball, chasing every ball to the boundary, and doing the little things that we can control. The big stuff will look after itself if we're clear on our roles," he added.
There are a number of injury concerns in the New Zealand camp as regular skipper Kane Williamson, James Neesham and Mark Chapman have been recuperating while Matt Henry has been ruled out of the tournament.
However, Mitchell hoped that all of them would pull through in the most opportune moments. "A number of guys have got to get through fitness tests and pass that and we probably won't know till tonight and tomorrow morning how they pull up from that. But yeah for us, we back everyone within our squad to have success and do a job for the team," Mitchell, who scored a 131 against India at Dharamsala, added.
New Zealand will now stay back in Bengaluru for their last two league matches, and Mitchell said adapting to the conditions will play a big role in deciding the outcome.
"We know what this ground's like, we know the dimensions and what the wicket can be like, but we also know within tournament, pitches can vary from time to time, depending preparation and things like that. So, for us, it's just adapting as quick as we can and making sure we communicate that with each other. Hopefully we do it quicker than the opposition and it gives us a good chance," he concluded.
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