{"id":296560,"date":"2023-11-15T09:26:04","date_gmt":"2023-11-15T09:26:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/?p=296560"},"modified":"2023-11-15T09:26:04","modified_gmt":"2023-11-15T09:26:04","slug":"sharma-responds-to-accusations-india-switched-the-pitch-for-semi-final","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/%d1%81ricket\/sharma-responds-to-accusations-india-switched-the-pitch-for-semi-final\/","title":{"rendered":"Sharma responds to accusations India switched the pitch for semi-final"},"content":{"rendered":"
India captain Rohit Sharma has played down accusations that the hosts switched the pitch for their World Cup semi-final against New Zealand at the last minute to aid their spinners.<\/p>\n
Mail Sport revealed on Tuesday that today’s clash would be played on a pitch that had already been used twice in the tournament, despite a previous agreement with the ICC that the game would be played on a fresh one.<\/p>\n
It has been suggested that this could bring India’s world-class spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav into play more at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.<\/p>\n
However, after winning the toss and electing to bat first, Sharma insisted that it would be a ‘good pitch’ for both sides.<\/p>\n
‘It looks a good pitch, a little on the slower side but whatever we do, we have to do it well,’ he told Sky Sports pundit and former India head coach Ravi Shastri at the toss.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Rohit Sharma has played down the significance of Wednesday’s semi-final being played on a used pitch<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Today’s semi-final is being played on a pitch that has already been used twice in the tournament<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Sharma was speaking after winning the toss and electing to bat first in Mumbai<\/p>\n
‘We have to perform on the day and control the controllables.’<\/p>\n
His opposite number, Kane Williamson, confirmed that the match was going to be played on a used pitch and that he would have preferred to bat first, but refused to offer up any excuses ahead of the last-four match.<\/p>\n
‘We would’ve had a bat first as well. It’s obviously a used surface but we’ll try to make use of it with the ball first up and hopefully there’s some dew later,’ he said.<\/p>\n
New Zealand have a world-class spinner of their own in Mitchell Santner who has taken 16 wickets throughout the World Cup group stages.<\/p>\n
Former England captains Eoin Morgan and Nasser Hussain believe that playing on a used pitch could actually bring the Kiwis into the game more due to the conditions being less predictable than if they were playing on a fresh strip.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson confirmed the match was being played on a used pitch but refused to offer any excuses<\/p>\n
However, another ex-England skipper Michael Vaughan appeared to view things differently as he tweeted a picture of a field with bare patches all over the wicket alongside the caption ‘The World Cup semi final pitch all ready to go at the Wankhede .. Should be a cracker’ just moments before the game got underway.<\/p>\n
India enter the contest as clear favourites after winning all nine of their group games while rarely being challenged by their opponents.<\/p>\n
New Zealand had a far less straightforward run to the semi-finals, losing four of their nine matches, but they did beat India at the same stage of the competition four years ago and will be hoping to repeat that feat today.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Both teams named unchanged sides from their final group games, with India resisting the temptation to play an extra spinner in Ravichandran Ashwin.<\/p>\n