WC 2023: India coach Rahul Dravid inspects Wankhede pitch ahead of semi-final vs New Zealand

India head coach Rahul Dravid, batting coach Vikram Rathour, bowling coach Paras Mhambrey, and fielding coach T Dilip arrived at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai to inspect the pitch, which will host the World Cup 2023 semi-final against New Zealand.

While India had no training activity on Monday, considering the fact that their league stage campaign ended only the night before with a 160-run win over the Netherlands, New Zealand spent three hours training under lights with full intensity in an attempt to iron out the flaws that have surfaced recently.

New Zealand looked the team to beat in the initial phase of the league stage with four consecutive victories, but things turned rather sour for them in the second half as the Kiwis suffered five straight losses. Despite a win against struggling Sri Lanka, the Kiwis now face a challenging task in the World Cup quarterfinals, where they must bring forth their best efforts to halt the unstoppable force of India's juggernaut.

Having just managed to seal a spot in the semi-final after a run of loss, New Zealand reached Mumbai one day before the hosts to train and get used to the conditions. New Zealand, who have reached the World Cup semi-finals for the fifth successive time, have had



their fair share of issues with collective form, player injuries, and even losing a key player like Matt Henry along the way. Henry was forced to withdraw from the competition owing to a hamstring injury, but he made up for it by collecting 11 wickets in seven matches.

Kyle Jamieson, Henry's replacement, was added to the squad roughly 10 days ago but did not play in the league stage. While Jamieson played in the pre-World Cup series against England and Bangladesh, he attempted to increase his workload on Monday by bowling the longest stint among bowlers as New Zealand's training began.

The emphasis was clearly on the batters, who had long hits in the nets. After a lengthy game of intra-squad football, the Kiwis went through fielding and catching drills. Rachin Ravindra, one of the tournament's leading run scorers, had a long hit in the nets in rotation with captain Kane Williamson, opening partner Devon Conway, and Daryl Mitchell. Trent Boult, Tim Southee, and Lockie Ferguson, New Zealand's fast bowlers, also bowled at the stadium where they will play their first World Cup game.

While Ravindra and Mitchell returned to the nets to bowl, Williamson shadow-batted just outside one of the nets here while keeping an eye on the action.