World Cup 2023: 'Can't be a bigger semi-final', Sourav Ganguly hopes for India-Pakistan showdown in Kolkata

Team India have been by far the most dominant team in the 2023 ICC World Cup so far. Not only did they become the first team to confirm their place in the semi-finals of the ongoing tournament with a victory over Sri Lanka in Mumbai, they also ensured they would finish top of the table at the end of the league stage by thrashing South Africa in their subsequent fixture in Kolkata. World Cup 2023: News | Schedule | Results | Points table South Africa and Australia are but set to face each other in the semi-finals given the second and the third spots will be occupied by these two sides, and it remains to be seen whom the Men in Blue face in their last-four clash next week, with New Zealand, Pakistan and Afghanistan currently the teams in fray. Former India captain and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, for one, hopes to see an epic India vs Pakistan semi-final at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens next Thursday.

“I want Pakistan to reach the semi-finals and play India. It can’t be a bigger semi-final than that,” ex-BCCI president Ganguly told Sports Tak. For Pakistan to qualify for the semi-finals, the prospect of which appeared bleak after they lost four matches in a row, not only will they have to defeat England in their final league game, they’ll also be hoping New Zealand and Afghanistan lose their respective fixtures against Sri Lanka and South Africa respectively. Or that they don’t end up eclipsing them on Net Run Rate (NRR) even if they end up winning their respective games. Additionally, the tournament organisers had already decided beforehand that India would play their semi-final clash at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium unless they happened to meet Pakistan, in which case the two arch-rivals would square off at the Eden Gardens, which happens to be Ganguly’s home turf. Ganguly also hailed the Indian team for the ruthless manner with which they’ve conducted themselves in the ongoing World Cup, and didn’t expect them to suddenly start playing poor cricket in the knockouts. “The entire nation is happy with the way India is playing. The way they have played in the 8 games, it appears that there is a big gap from the rest of the teams. I hope they keep playing like this. I don’t think the level will drop so drastically that they will suddenly start playing poor cricket. Fingers crossed, they are looking very good,” added Ganguly.