Indian skipper Rohit Sharma gave respect to New Zealand ahead of the all-important semifinal. Rohit said the Kiwis are the most disciplined team and very consistent for so many years. The Blackcaps had made it to the final of the last two ODI World Cups and had beaten India in the semifinal of the previous edition by 18 runs.
However, India finally broke their major ICC event hoodoo against New Zealand, beating them by four wickets earlier in the ongoing World Cup 2023.
The Kiwis qualified for the semifinals after winning five out of their nine matches in the ongoing ODI showpiece. New Zealand won their first four matches of the tournament and they will be a tough opponent for India.
“Whenever we’ve come up against New Zealand, obviously, probably the most disciplined team in terms of how they want to play the game. And they play their cricket very smartly. They understand the opposition quite well. Obviously having played with a lot of our players in different stages of their careers, different tournaments, they do understand the mentality of the opposition. It is the same for us as well,” Rohit said in the press conference on the eve of the mega semi-final.
“But, whenever we’ve played against them, the most disciplined team, I would say. And they’ve been very consistent for so many years now, playing semifinals and the finals of probably all ICC tournaments in the last, I don’t know, maybe six, seven years, from 2015 onwards, if I’m not wrong,” he added.
Rohit added he is aware of what is in front of them and they have done their homework for the big match against New Zealand.
“So yeah, and we do understand what they bring to the table and how they play their cricket. We have been closely following all the teams as to where their strength lies, where their weakness lies. And based on that, we try and go out there and play the game.”
The first semifinal will be played between India and New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai on Wednesday.
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