India vs New Zealand, World Cup 2019: We deserve to be in the semifinal, says Kane Williamson

Kane Williamson stressed that his team being labelled the “underdogs” really doesn’t matter as what counts is the performance on match-day. The New Zealand captain spoke to the media at Old Trafford here on Monday.

Excerpts

Semifinal stakes

India is a very successful and popular side. They bring so much to the sport that we are fortunate to be a part of but it is a cricket match. We will simplify things as best as we can. Each side will want to put the other under pressure and when that happens, the next bit can be a real challenge.

Kiwi bowling

Our attack has performed well on a variety of surfaces and have adapted superbly. We will need to do that again in this match (semifinal) and assess the conditions as quickly as possible.

The Underdog tag

We are in the top four and we definitely deserve to be here. We had a couple of tough losses coming into this part of the tournament, but we do need to look at those for what they were. So, whether we are underdogs or not, it doesn't really matter. It is about how we turn up on Tuesday and commit to the plans that we want to implement and try and play with freedom.

Countering Rohit Sharma

Rohit (Sharma) has been clearly the stand-out batter in this tournament. But, as we know, we come into a semifinal and it is another day where both sides will be trying to quickly adjust to the conditions and will be looking for early wickets regardless of what the batsman’s name is.