New Zealand’s Kyle Mills and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Canada-c748’s Balaji Rao: two strike bowlers – ICC World Cup 2011 Preview
After a convincing win over Pakistan, New Zealand is well prepared to take on minnows Canada in a Group A match today. Canada has not been playing great cricket so far in the tournament and a win over http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Kenya-c752 has pumped up their confidence. The match will
not be a dull show, as both sides have some quality bowlers. New Zealand’s Kyle Mills, has been bowling well in the ICC World Cup 2011, as Canada’s Balaji Rao has proved himself as a quality strike bowler for his team.
Mills is an excellent new ball bowler who has been performing consistently for New Zealand over the last couple of years. He has the ability to maintain an impeccable line and length along with his movement with the new ball. Being a strike bowler, a huge
responsibility rests on Kyle’s shoulders and he has been doing his job phenomenally well so far in the tournament.
With a good height, Kyle can extract the bounce from the wicket and use the seam to swing the ball both ways. When in rhythm, he becomes impossible to play and even top batsmen, with ability to play late, face difficulty in front of the 31-year-old bowler.
Former New Zealand fast bowler, Danny Morrison commented about Mills and said, "This could be the one-day swansong for him. He's not massively quick, but has an uncanny knack of getting a wicket early in his first spell. He generally swings the ball out
to right-handers and can get a bit of different bounce."
In 128 games, Mills has picked up 190 wickets at an average of 26.29. He bowled excellently in his previous game against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Green-c60723 to score easy runs and picked up two crucial wickets. The Kiwis’ fast bowler has not
yet played a single match against Canada.
On the other side, Indian-born Balaji Rao is serving Canada as a strike bowler. Though he is not a quick bowler like Mills, his marvelous leg-break and googly are equally dangerous for the batsmen. Balaji is a late international starter, as he used to play
first class cricket in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 with the Under-19 team. Since qualifying for Canada, the leg-spinner has established himself as the main bowling spearhead for the Maple Leaves.
“Balaji brings a lot of first-class cricket experience to the team, and he's got a really good googly," said http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sunil-Dhaniram-c91842, Canada’s former captain.
With an ability to turn the ball both ways, Balaji’s experience and fighting spirit will be a huge asset for Canada’s upcoming World Cup matches. Balaji has just played eight one day internationals, but his huge experience of domestic cricket makes him a
dangerous man with the ball.
Balaji’s fitness has been an aching issue for team in the past, but he appears to be fit in his previous four games of the World Cup. The 33-year-old spinner is picking up wickets and that is what required from him.
Seven out of Balaji’s 10 ODI wickets came in the ongoing mega event. The leg-spinner has never played against the Black Caps before and he would look to start his career against them with a good performance.
The two strike bowlers will be at the top of their game, as their respective teams face each other for this critical match-up. Both bowlers have been bowling well and they are the two players to watch out for as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 take on Canada today. It will
be interesting to see how the experience of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mills-c76321 and the skill of Balaji manage to make the best use of the Subcontinent conditions and take their side to victory.
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