India vs New Zealand World Cup Semi-final Preview: A chance for Rohit's men to wipe away unhappy memories

There are run-outs and then there is that run-out.

It’s a chilly, damp day in Manchester. Mahendra Singh Dhoni turns it away on the leg-side. The ball looked like it had hit his gloves. He hares down and turns. Makes a milli-second calculation. A place in the final is on the line. It’s not been the best batting performance from India but if there’s anyone who can still snatch victory from here, it’s him.

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Dhoni knows it. He calls Bhuvneshwar Kumar over for a double. He makes a desperate dash. Martin Guptill swoops in. He’s far away. Nine times out of ten, Dhoni will make it. This time, Guptill throws with one stump to aim at.

Guptill hits. Dhoni misses. Just by an inch. But that inch is enough. A stunned silence descends over the stadium and across India. This is it. It’s over.

WHAT A MOMENT OF BRILLIANCE!

Martin Guptill was 🔛🎯 to run out MS Dhoni and help send New Zealand to their second consecutive @cricketworldcup final! #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/i84pTIrYbk

— ICC (@ICC) July 10, 2019

The horror of the 2019 semi-final

It’s one more entry in that list. It’s a list Indian men’s cricket team fans have a love-hate relationship with. No one likes seeing it but it’s never far from the mind when a major tournament takes place. The script is the same - the hype is unprecedented. India play well in the group stages. But when it comes to the knockouts, something goes wrong. There’s a collective brain freeze. And just like that, one bad day of cricket leaves them missing out on the prize everyone wants.

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As Rohit Sharma’s team prepares to meet their old foes New Zealand again at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday, it would serve them well to banish such thoughts. The more they dwell upon it, the more obsessed they will get with it. And that is where the game will probably be won or lost - in the mind.

The number of close defeats in knockout games has led to much speculation about why it happens. There’s a school of thought that says that the pressure of expectations bogs India down. They seemingly forget what worked for them in the group stages and succumb to fear. The dynamism they display suddenly becomes muted - they play within themselves. And more often than not, that leads to crushing disappointment.

India are favourites and yet…

Make no mistake, man-to-man, head-to-head, India should be overwhelming, clear favourites. They have played this World Cup like champions-in-waiting. Their performance has been reminiscent of the great Australian teams of old. No team has barely managed to put a scratch on them. What’s been delightful to see is that, unlike many Indian teams in the past, they’ve not been carried by just their batting. In Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj, India have been terrifying opponents and smashing them out of the park. Their bowling heroics have not been too dissimilar to the great West Indian attacks of yore. If this was the last match of a tied bilateral series, New Zealand would have probably been crowing in fear.

Read: India will be nervous facing New Zealand, reckons Ross Taylor

But Kane Williamson’s team won’t. Like it or not, the Indian team, no matter how good they’ve played, will carry the millstone of choking in knockout games, unless they are able to banish it. And Williamson knows that this match specifically will not just be won or lost on the pitch of play.

Who wins the mind games?

Now if Rohit and Shubman Gill get off to a good start or Bumrah and Siraj get early wickets, there won’t be any panic. So that has to be India’s strategy. Extinguish any unease right at the beginning. It is obviously easier said than done but the Indian thinktank would do well to approach it as their tenth group-stage match. Play exactly like how they played all their other matches. Go through the motions, tick the boxes, do what worked for them - and not let any pressure creep in.

But, but, but…here’s the question uppermost on Indian cricket fans’ minds (though they’ll be loath to admit it). What if it doesn’t go as planned? What happens if say…India are 32/3. Or if New Zealand are 200/2 in 30 overs?

And that is where the game will be won or lost. How do India react? Do they let the bad memories creep in? Do they start trying extra hard? Or do they keep their calm and remain assured that they have enough quality, both in the batting and bowling departments, to ride it out?

New Zealand will know this. And the Kiwis being Kiwis, they’ll try and put India as much pressure as they can. Get the dot balls ticking. Limit run scoring. Make India work hard. And wait for that thing called pressure to do its bit.

We’re in for a mouth-watering clash. You get the feeling that if India can overcome this barrier, their confidence will be sky-high for the final.

One thing’s for sure. You can be certain no one in the Indian team is going to take a chance and take a quick two off a NZ fielder. Not after what happened four years back.