New Zealand batter Daryl Mitchell says the Black Caps are keen to "throw a few punches" in their World Cup semi-final clash against India in Mumbai - watch live on Sky Sports Cricket from 8am Wednesday (8.30am first ball)
Wednesday 15 November 2023 06:19, UK
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson is upbeat about his team's chances of taking down "exceptional" India when the teams meet in their Cricket World Cup semi-final in Mumbai.
Hosts India have won all nine of their games at the tournament so far and are the favourites to go on and lift the trophy for the first time since 2011, when also participating as hosts.
The Black Caps, meanwhile, only just secured a final-four spot after suffering four group-stage defeats, including a four-wicket loss to India on October 22.
Williamson, who returned from knee surgery to make the World Cup and recovered from a fractured finger during it, missed that loss to India but insists it will have no bearing on their semi-final clash - live on Sky Sports Cricket, Wednesday from 8am (first ball, 8.30am).
"India have been exceptional," Williamson told reporters. "They are one of the, if not the best team going around and are playing cricket that matches that.
"But we know on our day, when we play our best cricket, it gives us the best chance.
"We know it's going to be a really tough challenge. They are a side that have been playing extremely well but, come finals time, everything starts again and it's all about the day.
"Every game in this tournament is a tricky one. As we've seen throughout, anybody can beat anybody on the day, whether that be the quality on both sides but also the change in conditions and if that has an impact.
"For us, it's great to have got to the final stage and then take a fresh approach because it does start again."
For New Zealand, Wednesday's contest will be their fifth consecutive World Cup semi-final. They have come up short of lifting the trophy on the previous four occasions, finishing as runners-up in 2015 and most recently to England in 2019.
On their way to that final, the Black Caps also scraped through the group stage with five wins from nine before upsetting top-ranked India, who had lost just once, in the semi-finals.
New Zealand batter Daryll Mitchell is relishing the opportunity to pull off another upset, telling Sky Sports: "We'll walk out as 11 Kiwis with a smile on our face and get stuck in.
"We know India are a world-class team and it's going to be awesome to walk out there in front of a crowd of blue and take on a billion people. It's something we'll have some fun with and embrace."
Mitchell added: "They've obviously got some world-class players, but so do we. We'll obviously have a few tricks up our sleeve that we might try and throw at them but we'll just try and play cricket as Kiwis do.
"You know that with the Black Caps we'll fight right to the end. We'll throw a few punches, keep fighting and hopefully we can do what we do."
Sky Sports' Nasser Hussain:
"I don't think it will bother New Zealand at all. This is their fifth World Cup semi-final in a row and they beat India in 2019 at Old Trafford. They won't bottle it. Absolutely not.
"They've got some serious cricketers that have played high-level cricket, in the IPL, World Cup finals. They will be absolutely fine with the atmosphere.
"As for India, they're brought up with this. They've had this sort of atmosphere that they'll have here tomorrow all the way through their nine games in the tournament.
"The only difference is that this is a knockout game... and can they carry on that fearless method of cricket that Rohit Sharma has instilled in this team, not only as captain but as an opening batter as well? That will be key for them.
"It's two fabulous teams. India are obviously favourites, but if there's one side that really won't bow down to them it's New Zealand. They have some really tough cricketers."
Watch New Zealand take on India in the first Cricket World Cup semi-final, in Mumbai, live on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event from 8am on Wednesday (8.30am first ball).
Enjoy Hindi coverage of the semi-final live on Sky Sports Arena from 8.20am.
You can also stream without a contract through NOW.
Follow text commentary and in-play video clips of India vs New Zealand via a live blog on skysports.com and the Sky Sports App.
