Since its inception, New Zealand has always put up exceptional performances when it comes to the CWC events. They have remained one of the strong contenders, especially for the knockout stages. So far, they are still in pursuit of their first CWC maiden title, as they choked in the knockout stages. They have already made nine appearances in the knockout stages, especially in the semis.
New Zealand in ODI World Cup Knockouts
We will discuss their performances so far in the knockout stages.
ICC ODI World Cup 1975
- In the first-ever CWC event, a total of eight teams entered the tournament and were further subdivided into two separate groups.
- In Group A, New Zealand played alongside hosts England, India, and East Africa.
- At the end of the league stage, the Black Caps finished second in the group stage by acquiring 8 points in total.
- In the semifinals, their opponents were none other than the unbeatable West Indies. New Zealand, in the same match, were bundled out for a meager score of 158 runs.
- Bernard Julien picked up four wickets for only 27 runs.
- In the second innings, the Black Caps put up a strong fight with the ball.
- But it was their ill luck that the West Indies won the match and later became the world champions of the inaugural CWC event.
ICC ODI World Cup 1979
- In the CWC event of 1979, the Kiwis again produced a stellar performance in the round-robin stage. In turn, it helps them to qualify for the back-to-back semifinals.
- They finished second in the group stage, alongside the Windies. In the semifinal, they faced the host team England, who posted a decent total of 221 runs for the loss of 8 wickets from their allotted 60 overs.
- New Zealand decently started their second inning, thanks to John Wright’s valiant inning of 69 runs.
- But ill luck sometimes favors the brave, as they started losing wickets at regular intervals. In turn, they not only choked in the later part of their innings but lost the match by a margin of nine runs.
ICC ODI World Cup 1992
- The same sad stories continued for the Kiwis even after 13 years, as they failed to qualify for the grand finale.
- Since they choked out in the knockout stages,
- It was the semifinal in which New Zealand took on the Pakistani team.
- It was the skipper, Martin Crowe, who opted to bat first. His team put up a decent total of 262 runs for the loss of seven wickets.
- In reply, it was the men in green, and they were led by Imran Khan, who chased down the target with absolute ease.
- All credit goes to one batsman, i.eInzamam-ul-Haq, who played a quick-fire knock of 60 runs. Later on, they were crowned the CWC champions for the very first time.
ICC ODI World Cup 1999
- It is the 7th edition of the CWC event, which saw it come back to English soil, but some parts of the matches were played in Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and the Netherlands.
- 12 teams participated in this global marquee event.
- A total of 42 matches were played. New Zealand topped the league stage as they qualified for the Super Six.
- Whereas, in the Super Six stage, they finished as the fourth-best team and qualified for the semi-final.
- Playing at Old Trafford, Stephen Fleming’s men got bowled out for 241 runs against the men in green.
- On the other hand, the men in green chased down the target with absolute ease. They won the match by nine wickets, thanks to Saeed Anwar’s unbeaten knock of 113 runs.
ICC ODI World Cup 2007
- In this particular CWC event, teams were further divided into four groups, i.e., A, B, C, and D.
- New Zealand was placed in Group C, alongside England, Kenya, and Canada.
- The Kiwis topped their group as they qualified for the Super 8 stage, where they ranked fourth, thanks to their five wins on a trot.
- In the semi-final, the Kiwis faced the Lankans, and they were completely decimated by Mahela Jayawardene’s inning of 115 runs.
- While batting second, they lost the match by 81 runs, thanks to Muttiah Muralitharan’s superb spell of 4 for 31.
ICC ODI World Cup 2011
- The 10th edition of the CWC event was hosted by India, alongside Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
- The teams were divided into two groups, i.e., A and B.
- Each team played each other six times, and the top four teams qualified for the semis.
- The Kiwis finished fourth in their group, which helped them to qualify for the knockout stage.
- In the semis, New Zealand won the toss and opted to bat first.
- It was Lasith Malinga and Ajantha Mendis who blew away the Kiwis’ batting order as they got bowled out for 217 runs.
- While batting second, it was Tillkaratne Dilshan and Kumara Sangakkara who made sure that they won the match comprehensively and qualified for the final.
ICC ODI World Cup 2015
- The eleventh edition of the CWC event took place in Australia and New Zealand.
- The Kiwis topped their group, and in the semifinal, they faced the Proteas and won the match by four wickets based on the Duckworth Lewis Stern system.
- In the final, they faced the mighty Australian team, and it was Mitchel Starc who decimated the Kiwi’s batting order for only 183 runs.
- The Aussies lifted their fifth title in fashionable style by winning the match with absolute ease.
ICC ODI World Cup 2019
- The 12th edition of the CWC event took place in England.
- This time, the tournament saw a round-robin format, and the top four teams from the group qualified for the semifinals.
- The Kiwis, by defeating the men in blue in the semifinal by a margin of 18 runs, qualified for the grand finale.
- In the final, they faced the English team, and the match in the main stage ended in a draw.
- Even in the DLS system, the match ended in a draw.
- England became the winner on the basis of the boundary countback rule of 26–17.
ICC ODI World Cup 2023
- In the 13th edition of this year’s CWC event, New Zealand became the fourth team to qualify for the semifinal from the round-robin stage with 5 wins out of their 9 matches.
- In the semifinal, the men in blue, led by Rohit Sharma, won the toss and elected to bat first.
- Virat Kohli scored his 50th ODI century, and Shreyas Iyer played a stunning knock of 105 runs.
- India posted a mammoth total of 397 runs for the loss of 4 wickets.
- In reply, it was Mohammad Shami who decimated the Kiwis batsmen and bundled them out for 327 runs.
- India won the match by 70 runs, as Shami picked up 7 wickets for 57 runs only.
- In turn, another heartbreak happened for the Black Caps team.
Concluding Thoughts
From the above blog,it is clear that even though the Kiwis played a brilliant brand of cricket in the round-robin stage, they eventually choked out in the knockout stages. They are yet to win a maiden title in the near future, since they failed to achieve that in the current edition of the CWC event. We hope that in the near future, they can achieve that with absolute ease.
Also Read New Zealand ODI World Cup 2023 Schedule
