5 reasons why New Zealand could win the 2016 World T20

After the controversial sacking of Ross Taylor in 2012, Brendon McCullum has been the face of New Zealand’s resurgence in all forms of the game. Like Martin Crowe in 1992, McCullum’s innovative captaincy and the team’s bullish approach has worked wonders, as highlighted by their performance in the 2015 World Cup.Despite having great players in the last two decades, New Zealand has managed to win just a single ICC tournament, the KnockOut Trophy in 2000. They came agonizingly close in the 2015 World Cup, but have the arsenal to go one step further in the upcoming World T20.Here are five reasons why:

#1 Their batsmen are in record-breaking mood

Martin Guptill is in superb form.

There seems to be no respite for bowlers around the world. New Zealand batsmen are in red-hot form, and would be looking to extend it into the World T20. The Black Caps have three batsmen in the ODI highest run getter list last year.

Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson are right on top, the former leading with four centuries in 2015, including a record-breaking unbeaten 237 in the World Cup, and ended 2015 with a 30-ball 93. Williamson has been consistent in all forms of the game. The hard-hitting Colin Munro, the versatile Corey Anderson and the experienced Ross Taylor are other key players in the batting line-up.

The team played just four T20s in 2015, but the manner in which they have approached their one-day games leaves no doubt about their approach to T20s.

#2 They have players who can adapt to the T20 format quickly

Colin Munro scored 50 in just 14 balls few days back.

Guptill scored 63 in 25 balls against Sri Lanka, with his half-century coming in only 19 deliveries. If you think that was quick, Colin Munro scored a whirlwind 50 off only 14 balls, just 20 minutes after Guptill. Kane Williamson, who averaged 90 in Test matches and 57 in ODI matches in 2015, is in fine form in the last three T20Is, racking up 155 runs in three matches.

Trent Boult was the third highest wicket-taker in ODIs in 2015. He also took 36 wickets in 8 Test matches last year, the most for his team. He also took 13 wickets in three Test matches in the recent series against the Lankans and followed it with three wickets in the first T20.

Their core players have played well across all the three formats, and make a smooth transition to any form of the game.

#3 Their bowling attack has many options

Matt Henry took 13 wickets in 3 matches against Sri Lanka.

Tim Southee and Trent Boult have been performing consistently for the Black Caps in the last few years. Boult, who was the second highest wicket-taker in the 2015 World Cup, was bagged by the IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad for a whopping 3.8 crores. Such was his form that he managed to sideline Dale Steyn from their first team.

Adam Milne, the right-handed fast bowler who plays for Central Districts, replaced the rested Tim Southee in the squad and made an instant impact by taking four wickets in the first T20 against Pakistan.

Matt Henry, who was given the responsibility of the new ball, was on fire in the recently concluded ODI series, taking 13 wickets in three matches against Sri Lanka. Mitchell McClenaghan and Corey Anderson are the third and fourth bowler options with Williamson. Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi are the only spinners who have been tried and tested since the retirement of Daniel Vettori and Nathan McCullum. This presents Kane Williamson with a lot of choices. Even he can roll his arm over once in a while.

#4 Kane Williamson, the new captain, was in phenomenal form last year

The best thing about New Zealand cricket right now

Precociously talented, Williamson has silently moved to the top spots in the ICC rankings on the back of some stellar performances in the past few years. Apart from his consistent run-making ability, he now has to take up the mantle of the Black Caps captaincy, after the surprise retirement of Brendon McCullum.

Since 2014, he averages 78 in Tests and 61 in ODIs, and sits second on the list of most Test centuries for New Zealand, four behind the leader, Martin Crowe. In 2015, he was bettered only by Martin Guptill in one-day internationals in the overall list of highest run-getters. In Tests, he stands at fifth in the same list, in spite of having played only eight matches.

Williamson might be known for his serene stroke-play in Tests, but he can whack the ball in T20s too, as shown by his strike rate of 166 in 2015. His overall strike rate in T20s also stands at an impressive 128.

Now, with the added responsibility of captaincy, fans will hope that Williamson’s coming of age coincides with a title for the Black Caps.

#5 They\'ve gained confidence from the McCullum brand of captaincy

His legacy has given confidence to the team.

The first player to score 1000 T20 runs, Brendon McCullum has been the cornerstone of New Zealand’s revival at the international stage in this decade. When he took over the captaincy at the end of 2012, he was given control of an inexperienced team, with Ross Taylor, the previous captain, opting out of the next tour.

By the end of a highly successful World Cup 2015, where the Black Caps showed tremendous all-round performance to reach the finals for the first time, McCullum had constructed a team that had an aggressive approach to the game, be it batting or bowling.

His untimely retirement before the World T20 might have caught the team unaware, yet his legacy has given enough confidence to the team, and his successor, Kane Williamson.