India vs New Zealand, ICC World Cup 2023 semi-finals: Team India is all set to face New Zealand in the semi-final of ICC World Cup 2023 with more confidence as the match is scheduled at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai where the record of Team India is good and the team has performed exceptionally well in the tournament so far. But, still, the confidence of the team will be a bit shaken up as India lost the semi-finals in the previous two World Cups, and out of that one defeat was against New Zealand
Team India coach Rahul Dravid spoke about the World Cup semi-final pressure and how the cricket team is planning on dealing with the same. “I would be in-authentic if I said that there will be no pressure of semi-final. You have no guarantees to win any game of cricket. What you can do is prepare the best you can and we’ve been doing that,” Rahul Dravid said after India’s victory against Netherlands in the last league match of ICC World Cup 2023.
Rohit Sharma’s leadership
Rahul Dravid emphasized the role of Indian skipper Rohit Sharma and said he has led by example both on and off the field. Coach Dravid stressed the wonderful openings Rohit Sharma provided to the Indian team which helped the other players to dominate from the other end.
“Rohit has certainly been a leader, you know, without a doubt. I think he’s led by example both on and off the field. Some of the starts that he’s given us and the way he’s cracked open games for us. A lot of times people have looked at one, I mean, I can’t go into the specific games, I’m sure that you will be able to look into it, but there have been some games where it could have been tricky for us, but the fact that he’s been able to get us to those kinds of starts has literally cracked open the game,” the Indian team coach said.
Good performances have a cost
Rahul Dravid also mentioned the good performance of the Indian cricket team and how that adds to the World Cup pressure. “When it’s going well it looks good. One loss and everyone says ‘You don’t know anything’,” he said. “There is going to be a certain amount of pressure but I think the way we have responded to the pressure so far gives us a lot of belief and a lot of confidence. I am confident of the vibe and energy in the group.”
India’s ferocious pace attack
India’s pace attack has been phenomenal in the current World Cup 2023. Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Mohammed Shami have been nightmares for even the best batters of the world. Shami made his appearance late in the tournament but rapidly became one of the top wicket-takers of the World Cup owing to his lethal bowling. Jasprit Bumrah has been very economical and Mohammed Siraj has successfully shown the magic of his swing.
Milestone Alert!Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world 🌏 Click here to know more.
Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.
Updated: 13 Nov 2023, 06:58 PM IST