“The momentum is with us” - Indian fielding coach T. Dilip on the challenge of facing New Zealand in 2023 World Cup semi-final 

Team India’s fielding coach T. Dilip has asserted that the Men in Blue will have momentum heading into the 2023 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand on Wednesday. He added that the hosts will look to maintain their high standards in the knockouts.

India beat the Netherlands by 160 runs in the last match of the league stage at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday. Batting first, the Men in Blue put up an imposing 410/4 on the board before bowling out the Dutch for 250. With the win, India ended the league phase unbeaten.

India will be in for a bigger challenge against the Kiwis, a side that has caused them multiple heartbreaks in ICC events. However, Dilip is confident that the team will tackle the pressure better this time.

"I think you can really see that we won all the league matches till now. So, the momentum is with us and the most important thing we thrive as a team is to play to our standards. That's what we're looking for and you can clearly see that we have done really well with them [New Zealand] in Dharamsala. So, we take those positive things. Go ahead and play the day,” he said.

On the areas of concern heading into the knockout phase of the World Cup, Dilip reiterated that the players are in a good frame of mind and that it’s all about continuing the good work that they have been doing.

“If you can see, all the batters have got starts, and they have been in good nick. Bowlers are also picking wickets. Not only the spinners, the fast bowlers are also doing the job. Even the intensity at which we are going about [things] is outstanding. We already played in Mumbai. So, I think it would be a good contest on that particular day. But from our point of view, I think our standards have been really up there,” the fielding coach commented.

Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul struck hundreds for India against the Netherlands. The bowlers then shared the spoils.

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"He has been doing a truly amazing job as a wicketkeeper” - Indian fielding coach on KL Rahul

Apart from being impressive with the bat, Rahul has done a great job as a wicketkeeper as well. Admitting that there were apprehensions over him taking the gloves since he was coming back from injury, Dilip hailed Rahul for acing the challenge.

"He has been doing a truly amazing job as a wicketkeeper,” the Indian field coach said.

"Of course, when he came back from a long injury layoff, that was something that we considered as a challenging factor. He has come up really well. He is someone who has been keeping wickets from a young age, but we identified a couple of factors and worked upon it,” he added.

In nine matches of the 2023 World Cup, Rahul has taken 11 catches and has affected one stumping.