New Zealand's Lockie Ferguson. Photo: photosport
New Zealand pace bowler Lockie Ferguson says they must accurately assess Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium pitch ahead of their World Cup semi-final against hosts India and look to tighten up their bowling at the traditionally high-scoring venue.
South Africa twice posted scores of 350-plus at the stadium and India made 357-8 in their clash with Sri Lanka before Glenn Maxwell hit a superb double century as Australia successfully chased down 291 against Afghanistan last week.
"A lot of Indian grounds have been high scoring," Ferguson told reporters in Mumbai before Wednesday's clash.
"That's the nature of one-day cricket in this part of the world.
"It's trying to understand what the pitch will be like and read what a good score on it is because those big overs, 10 runs here or there, can cost you at the back end of the innings.
"From a bowling point of view, we're trying to shut down the big overs, try to understand what we think is a good total. It's an experience thing. The pitch will be different... it's hard to read two days out. We've got to adapt as quick as possible."
New Zealand captain Kane WIlliamson in action while batting during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 between New Zealand and Bangladesh at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium (Chepauk) in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Friday, 13 October 2023. Copyright Photo: Raghavan Venugopal / www.photosport.nz Photo: Copyright © Photosport Ltd 2023 www.photosport.nz
Ferguson said the statistics favoured batting first at the venue, with New Zealand looking to knock India out of the World Cup semi-finals for a second straight edition.
"At the same time, it's not up to me and we have to play the game on the day," Ferguson added. "Whatever it might be - bat or bowl first - we've got plans for that.
"It's important to stick to them. Obviously, it's nice to bowl under lights, nice to see when the ball does move around a bit and it brings us into the game.
"We'll have to play it as we see it come game day, but I'm looking forward to it."
Indian approach
Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav expects the bowlers to have a tough time.
"It's a difficult venue to bowl in. The bounce is true and batsmen often dominate there. Unlike in Twenty20, the bowlers have plenty of time to come back into the game," Kuldeep told reporters on Monday after India beat the Netherlands to complete the group phase with a perfect nine-from-nine record.
"But yes, you need a couple of early wickets to get on top of the game and the opponents."
India's Mohammed Siraj Photo: PHOTOSPORT
New Zealand will be looking to repeat their 2019 feat of knocking India out in the semi-finals.
"We've played a lot of bilateral series after that," Kuldeep said.
"Our preparation has been good and we've been able to play good cricket throughout the tournament.
"We expect to continue in the same vein in the next match."
Kuldeep has claimed 14 wickets during India's run of nine straight victories at the tournament.
"I just work on my rhythm and strengths and focus on how the batsmen are trying to play me. My aim is to land the ball on the good length area as much as possible," he said.
- Reuters
- Reuters