New Zealand on Thursday (November 9) registered a crushing five-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in Bangalore to all but secure their spot in the semi-final of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.
As per the current calculations, the Kiwis are likely to face India in the final-four clash at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai as teams like Pakistan and Afghanistan have improbable tasks at hand to surpass their net run rate.
After the emphatic win against Sri Lanka, New Zealand pacer Trent Boult expressed that the aggressive style of play by Rohit Sharma's team might present an opportunity for the BlackCaps to halt the hosts' unbeaten streak in the semi-final.
“They (India) are playing a positive style of cricket and I suppose playing shots does present chances. But we're going to be very clear with how we're going to tackle that game,” said Boult in the post-match press conference.
This potential showdown between New Zealand and India sets the stage for a rematch of the 2019 semi-final between the two sides in Manchester, where the Kiwis emerged victorious by 18 runs.
“I think there'll be a lot of excitement and the prospect of that challenge … as I said, it doesn't get any bigger than taking on India in front of 1.5 billion people. Yeah, it's very exciting,” he said.
“To come up against the host nation, a team that's red hot, playing good cricket - you couldn't script it any better.”
Earlier in the tournament, New Zealand suffered a four-wicket defeat at the hands of India in Dharamsala and Boult feels this experience would serve them well if the two sides meet in the semi-final.
“We've played India a lot of times. Quality players know these conditions very well. History suggests it's a good wicket (at Wankhede) and, yeah, nice to have come up against them in Dharamshala.
"It was a totally different ground and different facilities, but, yeah, we'll turn our focus to that challenge. Pressure does things to the best of players at any time. So, just look forward to taking that on,” the left-arm pacer stated.
Trent Boult, who earned the Player-of-the-Match award for his stunning figures of 3/37 in 10 overs against Sri Lanka, was delighted to regain his rhythm.
“Personally, I like to see the ball swinging around and moving in the air. To be honest, it hasn't really done that much throughout this World Cup.
“It almost took me back to my younger days when you're playing ODI cricket for the first time. This afternoon here got a good start with a couple of wickets in the power play,” he remarked.
(With PTI inputs)
