To put it in figures, New Zealand have lost six out of their seven T20I super overs; no other side has played or lost more than two. They are the only side to have also lost after an ODI super over, going down on boundary count to England in the 2019 World Cup to England.

But in many ways the problem isn’t so much New Zealand’s results in super overs, but their failure to close out matches in the first place.

[caption id=”attachment_136696″ align=”alignnone” width=”800″] Tim Southee has bowled and lost four super overs in seven months for New Zealand[/caption]

New Zealand seemed in control of the run chases in each of the last two T20Is. In Hamilton, they needed 29 off the last three overs with two set batsmen at the crease in Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor. Williamson batted beautifully to bring the equation down to nine off the final over and when Ross Taylor launched the first ball off Shami for six, the game seemed all but over.

But the otherwise unflappable Williamson was dismissed for 95, playing a rash cut shot two balls later, feathering a nick to the keeper. Then with one required for the win off the last ball, Taylor went for a big hit off a length ball, only to chop onto his stumps.

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In the fourth game in Wellington, the equation was tilted even more in favour of the hosts, who needed just 16 off the last three overs. But they allowed the game to meander into the last over and Taylor made the situation more tense by miscuing the first ball of an attempted big hit to deep midwicket. New Zealand continued to play nervously and gave India another chance to secure a remarkable come-from-behind victory.

“I don’t think it should go into the last over… They needed about a run a ball from five overs out,” New Zealand all-rounder Corey Anderson said in the post-match show on Star Sports. “Now I know India have got guys like Bumrah and things like that. But you need to be brave, have the courage and say ‘we’re going to take this away’.

[caption id=”attachment_136697″ align=”alignnone” width=”800″] India have triumphed over New Zealand in a super over twice in two games[/caption]

“People get out, but you don’t want your guys coming in with too much to do in the last over. That adds to the pressure. So they needed to win this with two overs to spare. That’s where they went wrong.”

Graeme Swann too pinned the blame on New Zealand’s inability to close out the game sooner, calling on them to adopt the “Australian method”. “They should have won this with an over to spare,” Swann said. “The Australian method… Don’t leave it to chance, because things can go wrong in the space of six balls. And Ross Taylor has to put his hand up and say ‘I’m the senior player, I’ve been playing international cricket for longer than most people can remember their middle names, I should be able to win that game.’ Both of those games, really, and especially today.

“That shot of his with seven required off six, he spooned it straight in the air first ball without having any decorum, any patience. As the senior player, that’s not the answer.”

[caption id=”attachment_136698″ align=”alignnone” width=”800″] New Zealand went down in a super over in the World Cup final[/caption]

Another aspect New Zealand may choose to look at is their over-reliance on Tim Southee to deliver the super over. He first bowled one in 2010 and did a spectacular job restricting Australia to 6-1 in their chase of 10. Since then he’s been entrusted with the responsibility on five more occasions, and he’s not been up to the task.

In Hamilton, he conceded two sixes off the last two balls as Rohit Sharma powered India to 20-1 in pursuit of 18. Then in Wellington, he conceded the 14-run target in five balls after KL Rahul hit him for boundaries off the first two deliveries. Perhaps New Zealand need to consider whether Southee’s T20I game is no longer where it used to be.

Southee, who was captaining the side on Friday in absence of an injured Kane Williamson, said the decision to have him bowl was made by the management, suggesting that the rationale to continue with him as the man to take on the responsibility stemmed from the absence of other experienced members in the outfit.

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“You know… you’ve got a young bowling attack and you sort of try… It was a clear decision coming up from a number of people but we need to start winning when we get ourselves in these positions.”

Despite having the most experience in them, New Zealand are yet to crack the super over code. While that must be addressed, they will be better serviced by not letting in-control situations meander into the tie-breaker at all.