Cricket: 'I'm putting the ego aside', says Colin Munro

Power hitter Colin Munro admits he must leave his "ego" at the door as the Black Caps bunker down for their World Twenty20 semi-final showdown against England.

New Zealand were the most dominant team through the group stages, but Munro says his side must realise that knockout matches are an entirely different ball game, especially on a Delhi wicket that's been turning square.

At Eden Park in January, Munro smashed the second fastest half century (14 balls) of all time, but making it to Eden Gardens for Sunday's World Cup final is going to take an entirely different skill set.

Munro has watched in dismay as his career strike rate of 145 has fallen to just a tick over 100 for this tournament.

But the left-hand No.3 has been forced to come to grips with the fact that if he's to make a match-winning contribution against England in Delhi, it's not going to be by breaking records. 
"It's tough. Obviously you want to be striking at 140 and 150 and doing all those sorts of things but obviously with the conditions we're in now it's a lot harder to go out there and whack it from ball one," said Munro.

"You have to try and adapt and I think I'm finding my feet and not putting too much pressure on myself. I'm putting the ego aside, not hitting boundaries and just looking for those ones and twos.

"I'm bringing it back to asking myself, 'what the team needs at that specific time?'"

If Delhi plays anything like it has this tournament, the New Zealand batting line-up would dearly love their No.3 to bat through the innings.

The Black Caps would have watched as Afghanistan's spinners completely embarrassed England on a Delhi turner just the other day - only for Eoin Morgan's side to get out of jail.

There was plenty of spin also for South Africa's Imran Tahir, Aaron Phangiso and Farhaan Behardien against Sri Lanka the night before last.

The good news for New Zealand is that while they've only arrived in Delhi less than 48 hours before a semi-final, they've triumphed on some of India's worst pitches this World T20 - in Nagpur, Kolkata and Dharamsala.

Munro though, says the key for New Zealand is realising that the pool stages mean nothing now.

"I think (the vibe is) pretty confident, but speaking to the guys it's obviously heading into a new time of the tournament and it's knock outs now," he said.

"Although yes we are confident, it's about starting again and starting afresh and it's about taking in a bit of that momentum.

"England are a pretty good all-round team and they chased a huge total against South Africa, so they're not a team to be taken lightly.

"If we can keep doing our processes and our plans and bring it back to us ... we know we can get it done on the day."