New Zealand's tearaway pacer Lockie Ferguson has made his intentions clear as he warned Team India ahead of their World Cup 2023's semifinal showdown at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai on November 15. Notably, New Zealand are the only team to have always found themselves in the World Cup semifinals since 2007. Kane Williamson's men were the runners up in the last edition as they suffered a heartbreaking defeat at the hands of England in the summit clash.
Meanwhile, with just one day left to the big match against India, Ferguson said that New Zealand will not settle for anything less than a victory.
“When we start the competition, much like every other team, we’re here to win it, but of course we know there’s a process and I think certainly within our team we’ve played a lot of cricket together for a long period of time, so we sort of stick to our processes and I know it sounds cliche, but I think it keeps us sort of level-headed and naturally as Kiwis we tend to stay where our feet are, which I think is a positive," Ferguson said.
“It’s obviously a big pleasure to be part of the semifinals. I know the team is very excited to get underway in a couple of days and obviously to play at this ground – I’ve had a few games here and It’s a pretty spectacular crowd. So, from our point of view, we’ve been playing some great cricket. I’m looking forward to getting underway in a couple of days,” he added.
While India have so far remained undefeated in the tournament with straight nine victories under their belt, New Zealand won five games in a total of nine matches in the league-stage.
The 32-year-old also admitted the absence of New Zealand's key bowler Matt Henry in the upcoming World Cup semifinal against India. However, he expressed confidence in Tim Southee's experience to fill the void left by Henry.
Henry's pivotal role in New Zealand's stunning victory over India in the last ODI World Cup semifinal proves his bowling might. After New Zealand posted a modest total of 239/8, many thought that the formidable India will easily cruise to victory. However, Henry took charge from the outset, dismissing openers KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma cheaply, putting New Zealand in the driver's seat. Rahul and Rohit managed just one run apiece before Henry sent Dinesh Karthik packing for 6 runs. He concluded with a remarkable 10-over spell of 3/37, earning him the well-deserved Man of the Match award.
But this time around, New Zealand will be without the services of the right-arm pacer for the much-anticipated semifinal against a formidable and in-form Indian team. Henry's injury has ruled him out of the World Cup, placing the onus on Tim Southee to deliver.
“Matt Henry is obviously a big hole in our side and we’re still a handsome bunch without Matt Henry,” said Ferguson.
Obviously pretty disheartened with how Matt Henry exited the World Cup, which was such a shame. But now from a cricket point of view Tim Southee brings a lot of experience obviously being captain of the Test team, captain in T20s and one-dayers too, so I think that experience counts for a lot. He’s also played a lot in India, which is great too,” he concluded.
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