On winter afternoons in Hamilton, New Zealand batsman Daryl Mitchell once studied space and tactics as a school rugby fly-half. In Auckland gyms, the 6-foot-8 Kyle Jamieson was learning timing and elevation, and chasing rebounds on a basketball court. And long before he was sweeping spinners in T20 leagues around the world, Tim Seifert was practising similar strokes — only with a hockey stick. These snapshots capture something distinctive about New Zealand cricketers who face India in the T20 World Cup final on Sunday: that the foundations of their success were laid elsewhere — on rugby fields, basketball courts, golf courses, archery ranges and hockey turfs — long before the players ever stepped on the 22 yards. Few players embody this cross-sport upbringing more clearly than Mitchell. The son of prominent rugby coach John Mitchell, he grew up immersed in rugby environments and played the sport seriously at school before committing fully to cricket. New Zealand players practice in the Narendra Modi Stadium ahead of the T20 World cup final vs India at Ahmedabad. (express …