"If you're going to play India at any ground, Mumbai is not a bad one" - Hesson feels semi-final at the Wankhede plays right into New Zealand's hands
Former New Zealand head coach Mike Hesson feels that Kane Williamson and company will relish the prospect of their 2023 World Cup semi-final fixture being played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The Blackcaps did not have a match scheduled in Mumbai over the course of their league-stage campaign, but the conditions on offer suit their style of play.
New Zealand qualified for the semi-finals as the fourth-ranked team, following a mammoth win over Sri Lanka in Bangalore. This now marks their fifth consecutive ODI World Cup semi-final appearance, a streak that began with the 2007 edition in the Caribbean.
Opining that Wankhede is one of the ideal venues for New Zealand to play India in the subcontinent, Hesson told Cricbuzz:
"The Wankhede is actually a good ground for New Zealand. If you're going to play India at any ground, Mumbai is not a bad one. I think our bowling attack will get some bounce there. So therefore if we get bounce, we've got to take early wickets."
He also reminisced about New Zealand's beating India at the same venue during a bilateral series in 2017, which also remains the Blackcaps' last ODI triumph over the Men in Blue.
"New Zealand's had some success there (at the Wankhede). I remember an ODI not so long ago chasing after being in trouble there (in 2017, they beat India by six wickets chasing 281). I think Tom Latham got 100 (103 not out), so he'll have fond memories of the venue and he's probably one of that top order who probably hasn't been in vintage touch," Hesson added.
Virat Kohli had scored a challenging century to help India post 280-8 in the first innings. New Zealand, however, chased down the target with one over to spare, on the back of an imperious 200-run partnership between Tom Latham and Ross Taylor for the fourth wicket.
Mike Hesson also opined that the toss might not play a huge role in the outcome, saying:
"I don't think the toss is as important as potentially some other grounds, which is great. Heading into a semifinal, you don't want the toss to have such a big say in the outcome."
The team batting first have won three out of the four matches played at the venue so far in the World Cup. The only successful chase in Mumbai during the tournament came in the form of Australia's three-wicket win over Afghanistan.
"I guess the one thing with India is from eight down, they're relatively brittle" - Mike Hesson on Team India's long tail
Team India stormed into the 2023 World Cup semi-finals with a string of nine consecutive wins under their belt. While the hosts have dominated opponents en route to the knockouts, they have had to change their plans courtesy of an ill-fated injury to Hardik Pandya.
The all-rounder was injured in Team India's win over Bangladesh in Pune and was subsequently ruled out of the tournament. Since Pandya's absence, Team India have had to seek balance in some form or the other.
They introduced Mohammed Shami and Suryakumar Yadav into the playing XI, giving them only five bowling options and leaving Ravindra Jadeja as the last recognized batter at No. 7.
Stating the importance of wickets at the top considering the brittle lower order, Hesson said:
"I guess the one thing with India is from eight down, they're relatively brittle. It's just the top seven that are incredibly good. That's why the importance of taking top order wickets is crucial."
Hesson further stated that Team India are the obvious favorites for the semi-final encounter, but will have the weight of expectations behind them.
"I don't think there's any doubt that India deservedly are the red hot favorites, but I don't think they'll be wanting to play New Zealand based on the record at previous big events. I just think it's not going to be as easy a match as some would potentially think. And that's just because New Zealand tend to rise to the occasion. I think India have got so many match winners, but there's a lot of expectation on India," he explained.
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