Team India’s left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav said picking up early wickets will be crucial to India’s chances of winning the semi-final against New Zealand in Mumbai on Wednesday. After their convincing 160-run win against the Netherlands, Team India finished the league stages on top of the table, winning all nine games as well.
Speaking to reporters after India’s victory over the Dutch, Kuldeep said, “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.”
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“The 2019 semi-finals (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 further added.
Like the ongoing World Cup, Team India finished first during the league stage but faced a shock defeat to the Kiwis in the semi-final. In the earlier meeting during the tournament, India overcame a tricky run chase to win by four wickets as well. And, Kuldeep Yadav stated that his game plan of sticking to the process rather than worrying about the outcome has helped him a lot during the ongoing World Cup as well.
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“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 concluded.
