Headingley [UK]: After the end of group stage matches in the ongoing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, India are all set to face New Zealand in the semi-finals. India’s batting coach Sanjay Bangar has said that the team knows what the Kiwis are exactly capable of.
“It’s not too long ago that we played a series against them (New Zealand). We know what they are capable of, we know their strengths. We’ll be keeping an eye on that. We’ll just take it how it comes,” Bangar told reporters after the India-Sri Lanka match.
In the match between India and Sri Lanka, openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul both scored centuries to help the Men in Blue script an easy seven-wicket win. When asked about the middle order’s consistency, Bangar said there is nothing to be worried about. He opined that as long as the job is getting done, the team is fine.
“I do not think so because whoever has got to bat, hasn’t got to bat for too long. Apart from that, Hardik has done a role, Mahi has done a role. They all are in good form and such sort of scenarios have been happening quite regularly. As long as we spring good performances, we will be good,” he said.
Bangar also lauded Sharma for his consistency. Sharma became the first player in World Cup history to record five centuries in a single edition of the tournament. The right-handed batsman is now also the leading run-scorer in the ongoing tournament with 647 runs.
“The secret behind his (Sharma) great progress in ODI format is that he understands his game really well. He follows his basics. All credit to him for maintaining the consistency. He’s also helping KL Rahul along the way, and from the team point of view, it is very important,” he added.
Indian bowler Jasprit Bumrah took 3 wickets against Sri Lanka to restrict them to just 265/7 in the allotted fifty overs. Bumrah now has 15 wickets in the tournament. The pacer said that the team has had a good campaign so far.
Bumrah opined that accuracy and clear execution will take any bowler to great heights. He said that these two bowling essentials will help everywhere.
“You cannot look at it like that. Everybody has got a good round over here. It’s a good campaign for us with both ball and bat. Everyone has chipped in whenever the team required,” Bumrah told reporters.
“I think the only thing that works is the accuracy and clear execution. If you have that, it will help you everywhere. Everybody is taking a lot of responsibility and when you take responsibility, you will always try harder,” he added.
India finished the group stage at the top of the table as they won their match against Sri Lanka and Australia lost their match against South Africa by 10 runs.
The Men in Blue have 15 points from nine games and the team will face New Zealand in the semi-final on July 9.
[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]