India faces familiar NZ hurdle in WC semis

By: Champika Fernando

MUMBAI (Daily Mirror) - India has looked invincible in the tournament. They have a clean sheet of nine wins and are just two wins away from laying their hands on the World Cup for the third time.

History, however, favours New Zealand when hosts take on the Black Caps in the first semi-finals this afternoon at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai a venue known for high scores but also assists seam bowling.

India has never beaten the Black Caps in a knock-out match in any ICC event. Now, all that pressure will be on the hosts to live up to the expectations of the 1.4 billion Indians.

They topped the league for a reason. They have dominated each time they took to the field, beating every opponent they met convincingly. They have two batters who have scored more than 500 runs in the league stage of the tournament. Virat Kohli topped the list with 594 runs and Skipper Rohit Sharma is in fourth place with 503 runs. Shreyas Irye (421), K. L. Rahul (347) and Shubman Gill (270) have all fired, making their batting look solid and indomitable.

“We know it's going to be a really tough challenge,” said New Zealand Skipper Kane Williamson. “They're a side that's been playing extremely well, but we also know, come finals time, everything sort of starts again and it's all about the day. So, for us as a team, it's very much the focus on our cricket again. We've played some good cricket throughout. We've had a couple of narrow losses and a few wins along the way which have put us in this position we're in. So, we're excited about the challenge ahead."

Mohammed Shami - the injury replacement to Hardik Pandya - has been exceptional with the ball, claiming 16 wickets off five games, while Jasprit Bumrah, the one-of-a-kind bowler has 17 wickets with a magnificent economy rate of 3.65 - the best in the tournament. Mohammed Siraj has been deadly with the new ball. Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav have shared 30 wickets between them, contributing immensely to their cause.

Their fielding has been exceptional, making them a complete package that deserves to lift the Cup. It seems as if India will do what Australia did in 2003 and 2007: remaining unbeaten throughout their campaign to lift the Cup.

The pressure, though, is immense. They were unbeaten in the league stage of the 2019 edition but, having scraped through to the knock-out, Kane Williamson’s men battled past a Virat Kohli-led side into the final.

"You're at a pointy end in a tournament now," said Indian Coach Rahul Dravid. "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."

Like in the 2019 edition, New Zealand reached the semis at the eleventh hour. They won their first four games on the trot but this followed a four-match losing streak, leaving their campaign hanging on by a thread before their five-wicket win over Sri Lanka helped them secure their spot in the knock-out stage.

For New Zealand, its biggest advantage is young Rachin Ravindra, the son of Indian-born parents, who has had a remarkable tournament so far. The 23-year-old youngster has scored 565 runs in the tournament. This includes three centuries against England, Australia and Pakistan. He became the first New Zealander to compile three or more hundreds in a World Cup.

“It's not just the volume of runs that he's achieved so far but how he's been scoring them and how it's been geared towards trying to move the team forward,” said Williamson, of Rachindra. “Some fantastic contributions so far and at such a young age and I'm sure we'll see plenty more of it to come."

Since returning to the side following injury, Williamson is in form, scoring 187 runs in three innings including a best of 95.

Devon Convey (359), Daryl Mitchell (418) and Glenn Phillips (244) have all been among runs and will look to continue their rich vein of form in their search to reach the third consecutive final.

Mitchell Santner, with 16 wickets, is their best bowler in the tournament but the proven pace trio of Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson can rip into the innings to put New Zealand one match ahead of winning the title.

New Zealand has lived most of its cricketing history as underdogs, even though they were the losing finalists in the last two editions (2015 and 2019).

The teams

• India (Probable): Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, K. L. Rahul (w/k), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.
• New Zealand (Probable): Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson (Captain), Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (w/k), Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson and Trent Boult.