T20 World Cup: Finn Allen-Tim Seifert take down UAE in violent onslaught, serving stark warning to New Zealand’s upcoming opponents

Eventually, they consumed just 15.2 overs without losing a wicket to emerge victors in a relentless carnage of boundaries, bolstering their net run rate in the group of death, which they have almost negotiated safely. But sinisterly for other teams, New Zealand are steadily peaking in a tournament they have bafflingly underperformed in, fixing one flaw after another.

It’s classic New Zealand; they are seldom pre-tournament favourites and seem like a team with loose ends, but somehow they tie the scattered threads at the most opportune moment and progress deep into the event. It’s another narrative thread that they repeatedly stumble at the penultimate or final step. They would face far better bowling sides in the tournament, but they seem fully equipped to deal with all sorts.

Midway through the recent India series, they fretted on their openers. Devon Conway, once the mainstay, looked spooked at the sight of Harshit Rana. But then came along Finn Allen, riding piggyback on his Big Bash League exploits. The last game he played for his country, before the Thiruvananthapuram T20I, was 10 months ago. Six of his 14 previous outings had yielded him a solitary 50-plus score. But in Thiruvananthapuram, he blew as tempestuously as the wind during the retreating monsoon, and scored a stomping 80 off 43 balls. He continued in the same belligerent vein against UAE, whose bowlers had neither the depth nor the deception of top-five sides.

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Some of the hits were sheer violence. Like Allen’s two swipes off off-spinner Dhruv Parashar. Both were good-length balls he went deep into the crease to and muscled over the top. His strokes are bottom-hand-heavy, and when he sweet-spots, it produces a whirring sound in its unstoppable flight to the fence. So powerful were some of his strokes that the fielders stood flummoxed as the ball speared past them. Even his scoops and paddles have a savagery than the sophistication that one associates with them.

Matching his mate

Tim Seifert, though, could put his associate in shade. Since the middle of last year, he has stumbled after starts. But he rediscovered his brutal touch during the India series and has enjoyed a prosperous start to the World Cup, cracking successive half-centuries. He wrapped up the game with a flat, powerful six down the ground. It was the eighth six of New Zealand’s innings, besides the 17 fours they had slammed. Both ended the night on unconquered 80s, sending an ominous portent for their future opposition.

New Zealand’s Tim Seifert hits a boundary during during his unbeaten knock against UAE. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)

They are arguably the most identical opening pair. Both have outrageous power, generated from immense arms and shoulders. Both possess a vast spread of strokes, their fundamental game based on instincts. The eyes and hands just follow. Sometimes, it would seem that they are hitting the ball too hard, but they are not wanton free-wheelers. They land scientifically precise blows. Pace and spin, they are in the mood to murder.

“We keep our approach flexible. Today, we felt like taking more risks against seamers and fewer against spinners,” Seifert said.

The lone moment of trouble seemed when Finn’s straight hit crashed onto Seifert’s box at full pelt. It was struck so fiercely that Seifert couldn’t move out of its path. He immediately sank onto the ground and lay prone sparking hushed laughs.

Ironically, Seifert said at the press conference that he envies Allen’s hits down the crowd. “It’s one shot of him that I would love to have,” he said.

Allen’s favourite Seifert stroke is the switch hit, which he grudges Seifert doesn’t employ as frequently as his proficiency merits.

They go a long way, even though they haven’t opened frequently in this format. Seifert is five years older than Finn.

“We go back to the academy, and have played together and against each other quite a lot of times, and naturally we are the best mates off the field too,” Seifert would say.

The only argument they had on the day they stitched the highest partnership in T20 World Cup history was over their prowess on the golf course. Seifert bantered: “I hit better on the golf course, and he hits bigger on the cricket ground.” Allen objects: “Actually, that is not true.” And both burst into peals of laughter.

New Zealand could afford to smile too. They are improving with every game.