former Indian cricketer S Sreesanth has speculated that the upcoming World Cup 2023 semi-final between India and New Zealand could heavily favor India, especially if the Indian bowlers get the opportunity to bowl in the evening at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium.
India enters this high-stakes match with impressive momentum, having secured victories in all nine of their league stage games, thus topping the points table. However, they face New Zealand, a team that has historically posed challenges for India in ICC tournaments. Out of 14 white-ball ICC event matches between the two teams, India has won only four, with their most recent victory occurring in a league match in Dharamsala.
India's performance at the Wankhede Stadium during this tournament's league stages was particularly noteworthy. They managed to dismiss Sri Lanka for a mere 55 runs in the second innings, thanks to a dominant display by the Indian pace attack.
In a discussion with Sporytskeeda, Sreesanth expressed his view that if India bowls second in the semi-final on November 15, the match might lean significantly in their favor. He also mentioned that if New Zealand bats first, India's goal should be to restrict them to under 300 runs.
"I feel it could be a one-sided match if our seamers bowl under lights - if Shami, Siraj and Bumrah bowl well. It won't be easy, but if they use the seam position with the new ball, it won't be easy for them (New Zealand). Just in case New Zealand bat first, India must bowl them out inside 300. On Mumbai wickets, such scores can be chased," said Sreesanth
Furthermore, Sreesanth advised that if India wins the toss and the pitch appears flat, they should opt to bat first. His analysis and predictions add an interesting angle to the pre-match discussions, highlighting the strategic considerations that could influence the outcome of this crucial semi-final encounter.
"India should bat first if they win the toss. It depends on the wicket as well. If it's a flat track then we should definitely bat first. When we won the World Cup in 1983, we bowled second. In 2011, when we won the World Cup at Wankhede, we batted second. It's a bit tricky, but I feel we should win the toss and bat first and put up a big score on the board," Sreesanth added.
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