After losing to New Zealand in the World Cup semifinals in 2019, the entire squad, including captain MS Dhoni, broke down in tears. India will play the same opponents, New Zealand, in the opening semi-final of the 2023 World Cup, giving them an opportunity to exact revenge four years after their heartbreaking loss at the 2019 World Cup.
India is the tournament favorites to overcome the New Zealanders at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai because they haven’t lost yet, but these are the BlackCaps, who have always had the upper hand against India. However, none of the previous New Zealand sides have faced an Indian outfit quite like this.
It was the final moment of MS Dhoni’s international career as the lion came up just inches short, causing agony across the country. It was understandable that Team India, a group of grownups, started crying like children after India lost by 18 runs. They were the clear winners of the World Cup, having concluded the league stage as the best team. Their hopes of winning the World Cup were dashed after “40 minutes of bad cricket.”
The majority of those players are present. To make up for what happened in Manchester in 2019, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Kuldeep Yadav are eager to do so. Former India coach Ravi Shastri added to the already enormous buzz around the match when he recounted how the players, including Dhoni, were in tears and supported the Indian squad to see the game through.
“I know since I was in that changing room. They also came out on top of the table following the round-robin, just like this year. Even the legendary MS Dhoni broke down in tears. Though he kept himself confined, you were aware of his inner thoughts. It does sting, therefore, to play so brilliantly and falter during the knockout phase. However, they would have realized their error. Before the semifinal, Shastri said to the host broadcaster, “They were four years wiser; there are 7-8 players still playing from that squad and I think it will be better from that experience.”
Yes, there are strange parallels. India advanced to the World Cup 2015 undefeated, only to lose to Australia in the semifinals. Indeed, it has been ten years since they won an ICC trophy. Indeed, the team they face has advanced to the final of three World Cups in the last eight years. However, India has defeated New Zealand this year on three occasions in a bilateral at home for a 3-0 victory, and most recently, last month in the World Cup league stage. Although the concerns are evident, Shastri highlighted a few elements that position India to break out from that unsettling trend.
The fact that they are playing at home is really significant. It puts pressure on you, yes, but it also works incredibly well in your favor when you are aware of your circumstances and have the backing of your supporters, Shastri noted.
