New Zealand have maintained a perfect record, facing strong opponents like England, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and the Netherlands. Meanwhile, India have also started the tournament flawlessly, but their unbeaten streak will be put to the test in their upcoming match against New Zealand.
These two cricketing giants have met each other eight times in the ODI World Cup, with New Zealand emerging victorious in five of those encounters.
Their recent performances in the mega tournament include reaching the finals of the 2015 and 2019 World Cups and defeating India in the World Test Championship final in 2021.
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Kohli discussed the reasons behind New Zealand’s dominance in the World Cup and praised their structured and consistent style of play.
“They are a very professional side and a very structured side, they have a very structured way of playing their cricket. But within that structure, they have been very consistent, and that has been the reason for their success. Credit to the side for the way that they are playing. Any team that plays against them has to find a way to break their rhythm and play to the best of their abilities, which will eventually decide whether you can cope up with their consistency or not because they are not a team that makes many mistakes. That’s been their strength, and at the international level, if you don’t make many mistakes, then you have a good chance of winning the game more often,” Kohli said in an interview with Star Sports.
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma also acknowledged New Zealand’s tactical prowess, describing them as a team that sticks to well-thought-out plans. He emphasized the need for individual understanding and adaptation when facing New Zealand.
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“I think when I talk about tactical New Zealand comes to my mind. I feel they are tactically very strong, and they bat according to the plans that have been given to them. When you play against them, you know some sort of planning has been done against each individual. They have beaten us in the ICC tournaments regularly, so for us, it is important that we try to understand the situation first and what we need to do as individuals and try to play the game,” Rohit Sharma stated.
Both teams are set to face off at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala, in a highly anticipated clash.
(With ANI inputs)