 The curtain is slowly coming down on the ICC Cricket World Cup in India with a semi-final set to ball off on Wednesday with the home team taking on 2019 beaten finalist New Zealand at the Wankit Stadium. India dominated the preliminary stage finishing with maximum 18 points from their nine matches while New Zealand snatched the fourth and final semi-final place by beating Sri Lanka last Thursday to end a four-match loss streak. South Africa was second above Australia both with 14 points but the Proteus had a superior net run rate, they clashed in semi-final two on Thursday. Now both Rohit Sharma and Kane Williamson spoke ahead of Wednesday's first semi-final. I don't think there's so much time to think about it. The focus is on the game, what we have in hand tomorrow. I seriously have no time to think about my journey, what it has been in the past, probably after 19 November I'll think about it but right now it's just business and pure business of getting the job done for the team. We know it's going to be a really tough challenge, there are a side that's been playing extremely well but we also know come finals time everything starts again and it's all about the day. So for us as a team it's very much the focus on our cricket again and we've played some good cricket throughout, we've had a couple of narrow losses and a few wins along the way which have put us in this position we're in so we're excited, we're challenging. Alright joining us this afternoon to discuss the tournament is cricket analyst Fazir Mohamed. Good afternoon Faz, how are you? Good afternoon Ryan, not too bad. Alright so we'll start by talking about this mouth-watering match-up, India vs New Zealand at home, India I'm thinking a sold out crowd, India in all of its element, can they win this title for a sixth time? Well certainly everything has been going their way, they've been absolutely dominant and if you go purely on form and the quality of their players they've got a fantastic bowling attack, quality fast bowlers, quality spinners, a strong batting line-up, indeed they've been strengthened with the loss of Haridic Pandya with Mohamed Shammi coming into the line-up as another pace spade, it's really difficult to see New Zealand getting the better of India but we're now at the knockout stage after what five and a half weeks of this marathon league table and this is where a piece of brilliance can make all the difference and I think of course the the form horses are Indian no question about it but sympathy will probably be with New Zealand because they've lost the last two finals, the last one a heartbreaking loss to England at loads and you just get the sense that if they could get it all together things go their way and maybe India for some reason are off the boil then New Zealand might have a chance so yes there'll be an element of sympathy for New Zealand but I think when you look at the way India played so far it's very difficult to look past them getting into the final. Yeah personally I think India feeds off the crowd, they feast on the crowd, you know they get their momentum their energy from the crowd support but a lot of analysts and you know critics saying that maybe that can work against India's favour the pressure from the crowd. What do you stand on that you know statement fast? I don't see that really impacting on them negatively because you're talking about a team that is supremely confident almost arrogant with it and that is what you get when you talk about a champion team also and this is probably where the pressure comes in. India had a poor record since the 2011 World Cup which they hosted when they beat Sri Lanka in the final. Since then they've yet to lift an ICC trophy and that is hanging on their nexus the monkey on their back whichever analogy you'd like to use and that may create some pressure. I don't really think that the fans will create that sense of anticipation to the extent that the players will get nervous. I think they are mindful of their own record over the last 12 years and they want to put it right this time around. However again as I said New Zealand they've been in every 50 over World Cup final in the last four tournaments going back to 2007 the last two finals they are no pushovers and even if in the end everything points towards India I think if New Zealand do prevail which will be a shock result it wouldn't be because of the pressure of the home support. Yeah reports have stated in Mumbai it's wise to bowl second but then you have to think about due because that's a factor that would change your decision. How important will this toss be to the teams to ensure that they come out on the winning end? I think if you're a quality team you go with whatever happens because when you start to fall into that trap that you have to win the toss you have to win the toss. If you lose then you create even more pressure on yourself. If you're a quality team you will prevail whatever the circumstance and yes it may be a situation where with a lot of dew a lot of moisture in the atmosphere at night whoever is batting second might have it a lot easier but we've seen through this world cup the quality teams going up against that conventional wisdom and prevailing and yes there would have been some luck along the way as well. So I don't think either Kane Williamson or Roy Sharma especially will be too preoccupied with how the toss goes. Yes they'll want to win it because they'll want to gain an earlier advantage as possible but if you start going down that rabbit hole of believing that you need to bat second you need to chase or even the reverse then that could work against you. I think these two teams are far too experienced far too professional to allow that to happen. Yes as you alluded to the fact that the Indians have come up short in a couple of world white ball tournaments in recent cycles. We know there are nine and all at the moment at home in India but a lot of people have felt that as a tournament team they have fallen short in the past decade in some tournaments that they were expected to win. Would they have shelved that issue based on what we've seen so far in this tournament? Not yet Lance because there are too much still to play and that's it you know it's all like the guy on Amazon Warriors over a couple of CPL seasons winning every match in sight only to lose the final and that's really what it's all about. We've seen that happen with many teams Sri Lanka went through a period where they got consecutive finals 2009 World T20, 2007-50 over World Cup, 2011 World Cup which India won, 2012 World T20 which the West Indies won and they couldn't get over the line until 2014 in Bangladesh where they won the World T20 crown. So yes that is a significant element and that to me Lance is the essence of a world championship this long-winded table of everyone playing everyone for 45 matches over five weeks that's really designed for television revenue and to eliminate the possibility of a major upset because Australia for example lost their first two matches they won the next seven but had it been a group stage of four you never know what could happen but this is what the authorities want they won the big guns in the final they won the television revenue because we all remember the disaster of India and Pakistan getting knocked out early in 2007 in the Caribbean but again that doesn't preclude either New Zealand or if India do prevail whoever they face in the final getting the better of them and I think that's what is really the essence of a world championship to have that element of a knockout and the element of a surprise. Yeah and the fact is that the other semifinal comes up on Thursday as well which looks to be a grouping match for me Australia against South Africa because both are are very very solid teams. Do you think given the fact that India are 9-0 going to the semis there are a lot of people who like to see their teams in a format like this lose a match early in the in the tournament just to you know get that law of average issue out of the way because it would be colossal a colossal disappointment for the home fans if India should get to this point or even in the final and lose. Absolutely and you're quite right everybody said you know you must have a bad match in you somewhere yes that's it and get it out of the way early so that it doesn't happen in the semifinals or the final well they've had a few indifferent moments they were dismissed relatively cheaply by England and then they fought back well with their bowlers but again it's their all wrong strength lads and again I think that because it's a knockout I think that's where the element comes in because you know it's win or go home and because it's India playing in India it's the Diwali period they've just had the festival of lights on Sunday it's a a time of real celebration in India so there is that sense of expectation and yes as much as people might try to to minimize it and no doubt the supreme professionals are somehow able to block it out that element of the elimination brings about that that bit of edge and it can result in strange things happening because it is that knockout state but again the way they've played you even if you you think that they they lose Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul early that they've got enough resources to get enough runs on the board that their bowlers can defend. Tremendous as far as their roster is concerned Farz no question about that too many match winners for me not to pick them to win I'd pick them from before the tournament started to be champions here having said that in their impressive nine wins that they have had in the tournament so far New Zealand probably ran them one of the closest matches that they played I think they won with about 12 balls to spare which in ODI cricket is is reasonably comfortable but it was a game that you know hung in the balance for for some point and you already referenced New Zealand's really really solid history in this tournament. Two finals backed about the last two tournaments they've played five of the last six semifinals so New Zealand has always been a tough deep to beat in the ODI World Cup and I think India would be mistaken if they look past them tomorrow which I don't think they will anyway. Absolutely I can't imagine that India wouldn't by any way shape or form look past New Zealand I think that they they've they've got their number because it doesn't work that way just have to look back to 2019 and the semifinals of that tournament in the United Kingdom the fact of the matter is as you said quite correctly five of the last six they were in the first two semifinals when the Western is one in 75 and 79 so so yes they may not be your glamour team but look at their performances and yes they only have a champion trophy from the year 2000 in Kenya to show for it when Chris Cain's had a really starring performance in the final but it's the sum of their parts Ratchan Ravindra, King Williamson, so many players Darryl Mitchell and so many others who have risen to the occasion every so often will this be the big moment trend bold and and so many others in their bowling lineup to really produce the sort of performance that could silence the Indian crowd the Indian audience in the same way that the West Indies did in 2016. Yeah and just before you go Faiz a quick comment on the South Africa Australia second semifinal on Thursday that looks to be a tough one. It is I would really like to see South Africa get to the final because of the way they fought the way they played their cricket but Australia when you reach this stage I mean they started badly they had the leeway to recover they're on a winning streak they're accustomed they'll remind South Africa of those choke moments in two semifinals already so psychologically it's ready for South Africa to put that behind them. I almost want to say South Africa and that I will say South Africa because I think they've shown a greater level of intensity this time around so I'll go South Africa. All right Faiz well what's for sure is we have two exciting matches coming up and we look forward to talking again after the results. Thank you so much. Take care. All right Faizir Muhammad there from sweet sweet Trinidad and Tobago let's take a quick break we'll be right back.