The entire focus is on Team India with an expected full house at the Chinnaswamy Stadium anticipating Virat Kohli’s milestone 50th ODI hundred against the Dutchmen on Sunday.
Away from the limelight, the New Zealanders, who have often played spoilsport for India in world events, like the 2019 World Cup semi-final in Manchester, quietly went about with their preparation for the semi-final at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) inside the stadium complex on Saturday morning.
The likes of Rachin Ravindra, who’s currently the second-highest scorer of this World Cup with 565 runs, and captain Kane Williamson sweated it out at the NCA with emphasis mainly on batting and bowling alongside a bit of strategising for India in Wednesday’s face-off at the Wankhede. Fielding has always been New Zealand’s strong point, and they do tend to lift their standards during tough times and when it matters most.
“Batting and bowling were the main areas of our focus in training. As for fielding, it’s something we always trust ourselves on,” a member of the New Zealand support staff told The Telegraph.
Senior pacer Trent Boult though wasn’t present during the practice session.
Till the end of the practice session though, New Zealand weren’t officially confirmed for the semis. “Obviously, we were watching the Pakistan-England game that was happening at Eden Gardens.
Rachin Ravindra. File photo
“But yeah, when England won the toss (and opted to bat first), there was certainly some relief in the camp. Finally, we are there,” the support staff member said.
The Black Caps did lose to Rohit Sharma and Co. when the two teams met in the league game in Dharamsala, a game India had won by four wickets with two overs to spare. However, in that game as well, it wasn’t at all a cakewalk for India as New Zealand had made them stretch despite the dew, making conditions favourable for batsmen.
No matter how the Black Caps fare in league phases, one simply cannot write them off in the knockouts.
With the semi-final spot now guaranteed, New Zealand will fly off to Mumbai on Sunday morning.
‘Special’ memory
For the Wellington-born Ravindra, it’s kind of a homecoming when he’s at the Chinnaswamy. With his parents hailing from the city, the 23-year-old used to be at the venue quite often during his teenage days.
“This is a place where we’ve had some amazing chats along with beautiful memories. We even watched a little bit of international cricket here when we were maybe 10 years old.
“A special memory was when Sachin Tendulkar got to 14,000 runs here against Australia (in October 2010). The atmosphere was electric,” Ravindra said in a video shared by New Zealand Cricket.