T20 World Cup 2021: "New Zealand are one of top two teams when it comes to playing consistent cricket" - Virat Kohli

India and New Zealand are set to face off on Sunday in a crucial Super 12 match in the 2021 T20 World Cup. Ahead of the match, some Team India players have spoken about their opponents. In a video shared by the ICC, India captain Virat Kohli said:

"It’s become quite a competitive fixture now. The last couple of ICC events, they have knocked us out of the way once and beat us in the final."

However, Kohli played down talks of a rivalry being formed and said that there is a lot to learn from the Black Caps, who are one of the two best cricketing teams when it comes to consistency.

Kohli said:

"I think more than anything else, rather than focusing on creating a rivalry, one needs to applaud their structure of cricket and what they have been able to achieve in the last 5-6 years. I think even the 2015 World Cup, so 6-7 years ago."

Kohli added:

"In today’s cricket, they are one of the top two sides when it comes to playing consistent cricket and being relentless in their disciplines. And yeah, just a nice bunch of guys, we all get along off the field as well. But credit to them for the way they have come together as a team and played some amazing cricket."

New Zealand one of the most tactical teams in the world: Rohit Sharma

India's vice-captain Rohit Sharma recently stated that New Zealand are very tactical and there is never an easy match against them. Sharma said:

"New Zealand is one of the most tactical teams in the world. When you play against them, you know that they have come up with some kind of planning, so you can’t get anything very easily. You have to work really hard to get across the line."

Ravichandran Ashwin was also full of praise for New Zealand and commented:

"New Zealand are a fine team. I think they are a very smart team. They plan really well. They get down to the details of how much they plan against an opponent. They are a tight unit. They know their sample size of players is not massive, it’s not a massive country. So they tend to plan to the finest of details. They’ve got a wonderful captain in Kane Williamson, who stays on top of the game more often than not."

India and New Zealand both lost their opening matches of the T20 World Cup to Pakistan and will be looking to get off the mark in the points table on Sunday.