India’s Primary Spinner Kuldeep Yadav believes that early wickets will be the key against New Zealand in the marquee semifinal clash on Wednesday. The Men in Blue, who have won nine of their last nine league games, will aim to be clinical when they play the Blackcaps in the last-four clash at Wankhede Stadium.
In their last group-stage encounter of the 2023 World Cup, Team India defeated the Netherlands by a commanding 160 runs on Sunday. Rohit Sharma’s team ensured they concluded the group stage unbeaten by winning all nine of their games and they will now play Kane Williamson’s team in the semifinals in Mumbai under familiar circumstances.
Speaking to the PTI, Kuldeep Yadav feels that Wankhede Stadium is a difficult venue for the bowlers to bowl, as the true bounce in the wickets helps the batters to dominate the game and believes that early wickets would be key to the team’s success in the match.
“It is a difficult venue to bowl. The bounce is true and batsmen often dominate there. Unlike in T20, of course, the bowlers have plenty of time to come back into the game. But yes, you need a couple of early wickets to get on top of the game and opponents,” Kuldeep Yadav said.
In the nine ODI World Cup matches he has played in thus far, Kuldeep Yadav has claimed 14 wickets and made it difficult for the batters in the middle overs of the game and can be a crucial player for the Men in Blue in the knockouts stages of the tournament.
I Just Keep Focusing On The Process Rather Than On Wickets – Kuldeep Yadav
When asked about his memories of playing against New Zealand in the 2019 ODI World Cup semifinals, Kuldeep Yadav said he felt the Indian conditions were very different from those in England and that they would like to carry over their form from the league stage to the knockout stages. He also said he tries to land the ball with good line and length to make things difficult for the batters.
“The 2019 semifinals (against NZ) was four years ago. We have played a lot of bilateral series after that, so we know the conditions in India and so do they. Our preparation has been good and we have been able to play good cricket throughout the tournament. So, we expect to continue in the same vein in the next match as well,” Kuldeep Yadav said.
“I just work on my rhythm and strengths and focus on how batsmen are trying to play me. My aim is to land the ball on the good length area as much as possible. I just keep focusing on the process rather than on wickets. Hopefully, it will work in the next match also,” Kuldeep Yadav added.
In the 2019 World Cup semifinal match against New Zealand, The Men in Blue after having a good tournament in the league stage went down to a spirited bowling performance by New Zealand as the Indian top order was blown away by the New Zealand pacers in the powerplay but will look to turn things around this time in front of the home fans.
