India and New Zealand are clashing in the first semi-final of the ICC World Cup 2023 on November 15 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. This is kind of a repeat of the 2019 knockout game between the two sides.

India came into the semis unbeaten in the league stage, while New Zealand had an up-and-down outing in the league stage.

But this match is a fresh one and former India cricketer and recent ICC Hall of Fame inductee Virender Sehwag urged the Indian team to play fearlessly and don’t think about the result against New Zealand.

“Play fearless, give your best, and don’t think about the result. If eleven players will give their best, India will win,” said Sehwag on the sidelines of the ICC Hall of Fame event in Mumbai.

Sehwag reserved special praise for young India opener Shubman Gill and lauded India captain Rohit Sharma for his captaincy and leadership.

“I think, I am too late," says Virender Sehwag on his ICC Hall of Fame induction

“He has been playing freely for a long time but now that he is the captain, he is taking more responsibility to give a good start and score a lot of runs for Team India. And the way he is taking care of Shubman Gill is amazing,” said Sehwag.

Having faced the pressure and expectations of knockouts throughout his playing career, Sehwag believes having some luck on your side is critical. The right-hander used the India vs. Pakistan semi-final in Mohali in 2011 as an example, defending 260 with some luck and a clinical display by the bowlers.

“You have to play well. You can’t depend on luck all the time but yes in knockout games, you need a little bit of luck because I still remember against Pakistan, they scored 260-270 but we had luck on our side and bowlers bowled well to defend the total. India is playing good cricket and some luck would be sone pe suhaga,” Sehwag added.

Luck definitely went India’s way as Rohit Sharma won the toss and chose to bat first in Mumbai.