2023 ODI World Cup: Former Indian great Sunil Gavaskar advises captain Rohit Sharma to pursue New Zealand in the semifinals

Sunil Gavaskar thinks that, considering how Team India has fought bravely throughout the tournament thus far, the toss would not be a major deciding element in the thrilling match. In the grand semifinal of the ODI World Cup 2023, Team India will take on New Zealand as the favorites on Wednesday, November 15, in a few hours. Not to mention that the hosts have won nine straight games and are still unbeaten in the league. Remarkably, when the teams faced off in Dharamsala, the Indian squad prevailed as well.

But as the knockout stage draws near, Men in Blue will be under intense pressure to succeed. Therefore, even though he is playing on his home field, captain Rohit Sharma would be severely confused about what to do after winning the toss in the opening semifinal. In a similar spirit, former Indian great Sunil Gavaskar has offered the skipper of India some wise counsel.

As someone who grew up playing cricket in Mumbai, Sunil Gavaskar is intimately familiar with the venue’s specifications. Gavaskar advised Rohit Sharma to field first after winning the toss as a result. Based on the performance of the Indian pace trio of Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, and Jasprit Bumrah, the legend predicts that the Indian bowlers will receive greater support when playing under the lights at the legendary Wankhede, making life difficult for the New Zealand batsmen.

“Well, it really doesn’t matter if they bowl first or second if you have a strong bowling attack like India has.” Obviously, it will benefit if they bowl second because, as we have observed, the ball flies to the wicketkeeper a little bit quicker when there is a little bit of dew there, Gavaskar remarked on Star Sports’ Game Plan.

Kuldeep will benefit three new ball bowlers by having the ball skid more quickly: Sunil Gavaskar

Additionally, in the first semifinal of the ODI World Cup 2023, Sunil Gavaskar talked on the significance of Team India’s spin department. He emphasized the significance of Kuldeep Yadav’s contribution on Wednesday. According to the former Indian captain, Kuldeep may cause the ball to skid more in the second innings at the Wankhede than when he bowls first. Asking New Zealand to run the chase will therefore make them succumb to the pressure of maintaining the scoreboard’s ticking. In the end, the dark horses may find this to be an extremely difficult undertaking.

“Well, it will undoubtedly benefit the three new ball bowlers in the Indian lineup, and it also makes it easier for a spinner like Kuldeep Yadav to get the ball to skid off the field more quickly. “So, yes, I do think it will help also if India is defending a total bowling second, because there is pressure on the scoreboard. You might not be able to get 400, but 260 or 270 will put pressure on New Zealand,” Gavaskar said.