Why New Zealand doesn’t deserve “Underrated tag” in ICC tournaments?

There is one tag which Black Caps certainly doesn’t deserve to be called which is “Underrated” as they are a brilliant side when it comes to ICC tournaments and their recent victory against Men in Blue by eight wickets clearly indicates that they are a team on a mission and they can bamboozle strongest teams on their day.

In the inaugural edition of the World Test Championship final that they won against India, they were not favorites but they completely outclassed and emerged as winners. They finished as runner-up of World Cup 2019 and also finished at 2^nd place in 2015 world cup where they lost the final against eventual champions Australia.

They deserved to be called as contenders rather than being called underrated due to several reasons. Let us ponder those reasons in detail.

1. The credit for their performance in ICC tournaments goes to their cool-headed skipper Kane Williamson who has been absolutely spot on with his captaincy when it mattered the most and also his ability with the bat at crunch moments of the game is another factor why Black Caps have been so successful in ICC tournaments.
2. The fast bowling duo consisting of the likes of Trent Boult and Tim Southee, with the amount of experience they have with their ability to take wickets in death overs is another reason why Black Caps have fared pretty well in these marquee events.
3. The likes of Martin Guptil at the top followed by Williamson and Conway in the top 4 has an imperious ability to accelerate and defend based on situations is something that separates them from other teams.
4. They rely heavily on stats and data which helps them immensely to make the bowling changes considering the weakness of opposition batters.
5. Last but not least underrated tags don’t put huge pressure on them and they play their natural game due to which they win crucial matches unlike the teams like India and West Indies who are favorites in ICC tournaments.