By: Tarish Bhatt
Not so long ago, Grant Elliot was considered a weak link in the New Zealand team, but the team management and skipper Brendon McCullum kept faith on the all-rounder and he repaid it in the best possible manner.
Elliott showed nerves of steel in the semifinal game against South Africa and drove his team to the final of the World Cup with a pulsating four wickets win at the Eden Park, in a rain-affected match.
The 36-year-old hit the winning six off Dale Steyn, but before that kept his composure under tense circumstances to score an unbeaten 74-ball 83. It also means New Zealand are in the World Cup final for the very first time.
“It’s great,” man of the match, Elliott said. “I don’t think this win is for myself or the team, but everyone here. The supporters have been amazing. We wanted to take it as deep as we could.”
“I think we timed the pace of the innings to perfection,” he added. “Not as calm as I looked. When you have 45000 fans screaming at you every ball… It has been an absolute pleasure playing in front of this crowd. We have had a good run.”
“It is the first final we have been in as New Zealand,” he concluded. “We are a very level team, we will approach it as any other game. Nothing going in my mind when I hit the six. I don’t even know where the ball went.”
New Zealand will now face either Australia or India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on March 29. This would be a huge moment for a team that has been undefeated in the tournament so far.
“We don’t mind whom we face in the final,” McCullum said. “They are both quality sides, but we know if we play the way we want to we are a good chance. Really proud to represent New Zealand.”
