"From us to all of you, Happy Diwali" - Team India vice-captain KL Rahul
Team India vice-captain KL Rahul sent Diwali wishes to everyone through a special post on Saturday (November 11). All the players are currently in Bangalore for the final league match of the 2023 World Cup on Sunday against the Netherlands.
The Men in Blue have dominated the league phase of the World Cup and were the first team to qualify for the semi-finals last week. They will be hoping to extend their unbeaten run with a win against the Dutch team.
All the Indian players and support staff members got together at the team hotel along with their families to celebrate Diwali on the eve of the festival. KL Rahul took to his official Instagram handle and shared a group photo of the entire contingent.
"The guys are in good shape" - Team India head coach Rahul Dravid
At a press conference on the eve of the match between India and the Netherlands, Rahul Dravid claimed that all the players are in a great space. He also indicated that they are not intent on making any changes to their winning combination for the final league match.
Dravid said:
"We've got one game before the semifinal, and the guys are in good shape. That's all I'll say without giving away much. At this stage, it's about just focusing on getting the guys who you think are going to be playing in the XI in the best possible space mentally and physically, to be able to play that semi-final and, hopefully, the final if we earn it. So that will be the single-pointed thinking."
On the batting department's performance in the World Cup so far, Rahul Dravid added:
"While our top-order also performed exceptionally well, I think our middle-order has played very critical role. Sometimes you can't judge them by sheer numbers… That only gives you one half of the picture, but it's actually some of those 30s, 40s, [have been] critical knocks."
India are going to face New Zealand in the semi-final of the ODI World Cup for the second time in a row. The Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai will host the match on Wednesday (November 15). Australia and South Africa will square off in the second semi-final in Kolkata on Thursday (November 16).