World Cup: India's march into the World Cup semifinals has been nothing of spectacular. The Men in Blue have an unbeaten run in the tournament with a perfect nine in the group stage. Rohit's men were too hot to handle for most of the teams and the Dutch were no exception. However, the real challenge will begin now with the Indians have a crack at New Zealand in the first semifinal of the tournament and they are well aware of it.
Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav shared a mantra that can help the hosts get on top of the Kiwis in the semifinal at Wankhede on November 15. The left-arm chinaman believes that the venue is a difficult one to bowl and the Indians would need early wickets to 'get on top' of the 2019 runners-up.
"It is a difficult venue to bowl. The bounce is true and batsmen often dominate there. Unlike in T20, of course, the bowlers have plenty of time to come back into the game. But yes, you need a couple of early wickets to get on top of the game and opponents," Kuldeep said after India's win over Netherlands in Bengaluru.
He acknowledged that India and New Zealand have played several bilateral games after the 2019 World Cup semifinal and the Men in Blue are expecting to continue the way they are playing. "The 2019 semifinals (against NZ) was four years ago. We have played a lot of bilateral series after that, so we know the conditions (in India) and so do they. Our preparation has been good and we have been able to play good cricket throughout the tournament. So, we expect to continue in the same vein in the next match as well," he said.
The star wrist-spinner also opened up on his personal performance in the tournament. "I just work on my rhythm and strengths and focus on how batsmen are trying to play me. My aim is to land the ball on the good length area as much as possible. I just keep focusing on the process rather than on wickets. Hopefully, it will work in the next match also," he said.
