Rohit Sharma-led India are all set to take on old foes New Zealand in the ODI World Cup 2023 semifinal clash at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The no.1 ranked Indian team has been unbeaten in the tournament so far with nine consecutive wins. While India will face the fifth-ranked side on the ICC ODI rankings, skipper Rohit on the eve of the clash has said that “rankings don’t matter”.
“50-over World Cup is at the top of cricket. Won’t say one format is better than the other, if you are playing for your country all formats are important. Without a doubt lot of teams have challenged each other and rankings don’t matter because if you don’t show up well, you will be beaten,” Rohit said in the pre-match press conference.
Rohit revealed the mantra behind India’s consistent performance in the long-running tournament.
“Getting through to the qualifying stage, there are processes to be done. First was to qualify to the semis and nine games are a lot, almost two three bilateral series, so you have to break it down to parts and then take it forward. Nine different venues and nine different teams we have done really well. First we chased really well and then we batted first, so we have covered all areas. I don’t think we have to do anything different,” the 36-year-old said.
Rohit is aware of the challenge New Zealand pose in the knockout games. Having beaten India in the World Cup 2019 semifinal and World Test Championship 2021-23 final, the BlackCaps will be high on confidence despite losing to India in the league stage clash in Dharamsala.
“Whenever we’ve come up against New Zealand they’ve been one of the most disciplined teams. They understand the opposition well. They’ve played with and against many of our players. They’ve been very consistent in playing semifinals and finals of the so many ICC tournaments in the last 6-7 years now,” he added.
He also lauded head coach Rahul Dravid for backing his decisions as a captain and the players despite a few hiccups.
“As a captain, if you’ve decided that this is how you’ve decided the team to play, it should be done. You’ve got to back individuals to the hilt. If a player wants to do something, you’ve got to back him. Also have to applaud Rahul bhai that he hasn’t made changes if someone doesn’t do well. Role clarity and giving players the freedom to express is what I like,” he concluded.
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