IND vs NZ World Cup: The Indian cricket team is gearing up for their semifinal clash against New Zealand and the coaching staff was on inspection duty after the team landed in Mumbai on Monday. The Men in Blue have a clash against New Zealand in the first semifinal of the tournament on November 15 at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Dravid and Co. visited the venue in their bid to examine what conditions can be on offer on the big day.
India defeated the Netherlands in their last league game by 160 runs and flew to Mumbai on Monday. The players did not train on their landing day. However, head coach Rahul Dravid, batting coach Vikram Rathour, bowling coach Paras Mhambrey and fielding coach T Dilip came to the Wankhede Stadium pitch to have a look at the surface.
New Zealand train ahead of the game
Notably, New Zealand reached Mumbai on Sunday, one day before the Indians and hit the ground running on Monday. Batters Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson, Devon Conway and Daryl Mitchell trained with their willows, while bowlers - Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson and Kyle Jamieson also bent their backs with the ball in hand. Jamieson, who is drafted into the squad as a replacement for the ruled-out Matt Henry, practiced longer than the other bowling fellows.
India and New Zealand so far in the tournament
The two sides have enjoyed different campaigns in the tournament so far. While the Indians are on a red-hot winning streak, the Kiwis have won five and lost four league-stage games. With nine wins, India are the only unbeaten team in the tournament and they reached the knockouts on top of the points table. New Zealand's journey has not been so kind in contrast. They won the first four matches but then went down in their next four to open a fight for the fourth spot. However, a big win over Sri Lanka nailed their place in the last four before it got officially confirmed with Pakistan not getting a favourable result last week
