Qualification nerves, shifting conditions and a semifinal

It's a quiet Tuesday at Eden Gardens. New Zealand are training under a harsh afternoon sun. The empty stadium curves like a giant cauldron, waiting for a big match day.

On February 28 in Colombo, New Zealand felt no thrill. Players huddled in Mitchell Santner's room to watch their World Cup fate play out as Pakistan faced Sri Lanka. Pakistan clung to a chance of usurping them for a semifinal spot. It got so nervy Santner left the room.

But it ended well. They are alive in the quest for a final spot.

One day from the semifinal, Santner is unsure about the 'underdogs' tag handed to his team. They don't carry India's home expectations or South Africa's past ghosts. They aren't trying to rewrite their place like England.

"We've had that tag for a long time, so we're kind of used to it," Santner said.

Is that a fair assessment for a consistently stable team? Wednesday's game will be their fifth T20 World Cup semifinal in 10 editions.

This perception shows cricket doesn't honour its runners-up enough. They are often seen as 'plucky', despite two ODI World Cup finals, one T20 World Cup final, and two Champions Trophy finals—the last just a year ago.

"Whether you call it underdogs or not, everyone's goal is to get to this stage. We're here now and we back ourselves in one-off games. South Africa look like a very good outfit and they're in the same boat as us now," Santner said.

The trip-ups don't matter now. New Zealand haven't dominated a metric this tournament. Only one batter is in the top 15 run-getters, no bowler has 10 wickets. They were comfortably beaten by South Africa earlier.

But in a multi-team tournament, performance is relative. They did just enough in the Super Eights (1 win) to edge out competition. Even Aiden Markram acknowledged past results count for nothing on Wednesday.

New Zealand have grappled with constant switches in cities and conditions: Chennai to Ahmedabad, back to Chennai, then Colombo, now Kolkata. Different pitches, boundaries, and rhythms each time.

"We've had to do that throughout. Pool play in Chennai and Ahmedabad, different conditions. Colombo, again very different," Santner said.

But they're here now. They arrive in Kolkata believing they can take down the best team and walk into another ICC final. When the galleries fill at Eden Gardens on Wednesday evening, New Zealand will be there. Unmissable.