Napier. New Zealand are paying little attention to their World Cup rivals’ form in the group stage of the tournament as every team that reaches the knockout rounds have potential match winners in the side, spinner Daniel Vettori said on Sunday.

Vettori produced a man-of-the-match performance of 4-18 in New Zealand’s six-wicket victory over Afghanistan at McLean Park on Sunday, which gave the co-hosts a 5-0 record in Pool A.

India are the only other unbeaten side in the tournament, having won all four of their Pool B matches, while several potential contenders have suffered hiccups.

South Africa were beaten by India then crashed to a 29-run loss on the Duckworth/Lewis method to Pakistan, who were abysmal in their first two matches, losing to India and West Indies before sneaking home against Zimbabwe.

That victory suggested Misbah ul-Haq’s side may have turned the corner, while Sri Lanka have also looked in more ominous form after losing to New Zealand and then being pushed by Afghanistan.

Vettori, who passed the 300-wicket milestone in ODIs on Sunday, said his side were not taking anything for granted as the competition gets down to the business end.

“Anyone that we come up against in the quarter-final is going to be tough opposition,” Vettori said. “All of the teams that eventually make it have got match winners in it.

“You can’t sit back and say a team is in form or hasn’t played well because you are [having] to go into it thinking the team will play their best.

“It’s the nature of the way that we look at things.”

New Zealand’s batsmen had little trouble in chasing down the 187 needed for victory on Sunday, with Corey Anderson hitting a four in the 37th over to ease his side to the six-wicket win.

It was the fourth successive match they had won chasing down small totals and, for some pundits, the lack of time out in the middle for several New Zealand batsmen could be an issue heading into the knockout stages.

Martin Guptill (57), Ross Taylor (24 not out) and Grant Elliott (19) all got some time batting on McLean Park, though Vettori said “ticking boxes” was not part of their game plan.

“We’re just looking at it as we’re trying to win games, regardless of the situation,” he added.

“I think it’s important that we keep thinking that way, because if we get caught up in working through a checklist in what’s right and what’s wrong in trying to win a World Cup it’s not going to work.

“It’s just purely about winning games.”

Reuters

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Source: The Jakarta Globe