IND vs NZ: India are set to take on New Zealand in the first semifinal of World Cup 2023 at Wankhede, Mumbai. The Indians are coming off a red-hot winning streak and would bank on the form. Meanwhile, they can also bank on the experience they have as several players have played semis before.
IND vs NZ: India and New Zealand are gearing up for the big ticket semifinal at the iconic Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Wednesday. The Indians are on a red-hot winning streak and have made it to their 8th semifinal in ODI World Cup history. The Kiwis have proven their mettle too as they would be playing their 9th semifinal and 5th in a row.
There are several Indian players, who already have the luxury to have played the semifinals before and are also in the current Indian squad for World Cup 2023. This is India’s fourth successive semifinal but with a few players out, there are still some guys having that knockout experience. India have played Pakistan, Australia and New Zealand in the previous three semifinals in 2011, 2015 and 2019, respectively.
7 Players in India’s current team who have played semifinals before
1 – Virat Kohli: Former India captain is the only player in the current Indian squad who was in the Playing XI of the previous three World Cup semifinals. He does not boast strong numbers in those games – 9, 1 and 1 but with his current form, these numbers can change quickly.
2 – Rohit Sharma: Current India captain Rohit Sharma has been part of India’s Playing XI for the previous two World Cup semifinals. He was not with the team in 2011 but played in 2015 and 2019. Rohit has made 34 and 1 in those two games.
3 – Ravindra Jadeja: All-rounder Jadeja has also been part of two semifinal games. He was part of India’s clash against Australia in 2015 and against the Blackcaps in 2019. Jadeja made 16 and had figures of 56/0 in his 10 overs in 2015. Against New Zealand, the all-rounder showed his mettle with a 77-run knock and ended with figures of 34/1 in 10 overs.
4 – Ravichandran Ashwin: The veteran Ashwin has also been in India’s Playing XI on the previous occasion in 2015. Though Ashwin played the 2011 World Cup but did not feature in the semifinal clash against Pakistan. In the 2015 semifinal, Ashwin picked a wicket and scored five runs with the bat.
5 – Mohammed Shami: Indian speedster Shami played the Australia game in 2015. He batted for only a ball and went for runs with the ball. Shami conceded 68 runs without a wicket. He played in the 2019 World Cup but was not picked for the semis.
6 – KL Rahul: Rahul’s exploits with the bat in the middle-order is a thing to watch out. He also has experience of playing the World Cup semis. The star player scored just 1 run in the New Zealand clash in 2019.
7 – Jasprit Bumrah: Speedster Jasprit Bumrah was also part of the 2019 semifinal. He was effective with the ball as he took 1 wicket for only 39 runs in his quota of 10 overs.
Notably, Hardik Pandya has also played in the 2019 World Cup semifinal but he is not in the Indian squad now, having been replaced by Prasidh Krishna due to an ankle injury. Kuldeep Yadav was also in India’s squad in the 2019 World Cup but did not play the semifinal then.
