July 9 shall see India and New Zealand face off in the first semifinal of the 2019 World Cup. India are the clear favourites but write off the Kiwis at your own peril. Their group game was washed out so it's good they finally get to meet in this tournament.
This means the last time they met in a World Cup was 16 years ago. March 14, 2003, the date we all remember as the Men in Blue destroyed the Black Caps without batting an eyelid. So what happened actually?
We faced off in the Super Six stage where 6 teams were fighting for 4 semifinal slots. India were already through but were in no mood to ease up on pressure. This was in the course of our 8 straight wins. We would make it to the final, while the Kiwis never made it to the semis. India won 9 out of 11 games, both losses coming to eventual champions and defending champions Australia. The Aussies would win the next edition as well.
Reuters
But enough of that, back to the match at hand. Not too long ago we had gone to New Zealand and lost the ODIs 5-2. Now it was time for revenge and the Men in Blue did just that.?
Sourav Ganguly opted to field and unleashed his bowlers with fury on the Black Caps. Zaheer Khan struck a double blow with 2 wickets in 2 balls in the first over to remove Craig McMillan and Nathan Astle before a single run was scored. He would finish with 4/42.
The Kiwis never really recovered and everytime they looked like putting on a partnership, the Indians struck. Harbhajan Singh took 2/28 to break their back and eventually the innings folded for 146. Surely 147 was an easy target?
Well it began to look tough as India lost 3 wickets for 21. Virender Sehwag and Ganguly were sent back by Shane Bond while Daryl Tuffey accounted for Sachin Tendulkar. At 22/3, the possible turning point of the match occurred when Brendon McCullum dropped a sitter to give Rahul Dravid a life. Dravid, along with Mohammad Kaif, steadied the ship and both scored fifties to see India home. It was not an explosive chase, but India were home by 7 wickets and many balls to spare. It meant we were unbeaten in the Super Six and the Kiwis were almost out of the race. A good win and we excelled in every department.
16 years on, that victory is our inspiration as we take on the same rivals in the semis this time. None of the players who played in 2003 are around now, so expect a whole new ballgame when they clash on the field for a place in the final.?