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'Hear Pindrop, Bit Of Silence...': Mitchell Santner Mocks India Ahead Of Semifinal

image-loy7xxw4New Zealand will play India in CWC 2023 semi-finals [AP Photo] 

In a mouth-watering encounter, hosts India will take on arch-nemesis New Zealand in the semi-finals of the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 on Wednesday at Mumbai.

Playing in India against the hosts is already daunting, and going up against the Men in Blue at the Colosseum called 'Wankhede Stadium' can be nerve-wracking with thousands of fans cheering and supporting the home side, making it daunting for their opponents.

Speaking on the eve of the semi-finals clash, Kiwi all-rounder Mitchell Santner hoped New Zealand could shun the Indian fans out early on and maintain equilibrium between both teams.

As quoted by Stuff.NZ, Santner (16), leading wicket-taker for the Black Caps this tournament so far, explained New Zealand's tactics against Indians, which would be to pick quick wickets upfront regardless of the pitch or toss. 


Here's what Santner said

"Hopefully we can hear a pin drop and a bit of silence – then we’re obviously doing alright. We'll have a look at the pitch and see what happens, but we know how destructive their top six, top seven are." 

"It seems like the only way you can kind of slow these guys down is taking wickets upfront, so that's obviously a big part of it."

The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) player recalled the atmosphere from the Cricket World Cup 2019 semi-finals against India, where until MS Dhoni's dismissal Indians fans cheering for their side.

"It was pretty surreal. I remember being out at deep point off Lockie [Ferguson] and they were still in the game and [MS Dhoni] cut one over me for six and that was ridiculous." 

"[The fans] were like ‘These guys are going to win this' and then obviously the run-out [of Dhoni by a direct hit from Martin Guptill] changed things and we silenced them again."

New Zealand went on to beat India in the 2019 WC semi-final and maintain a spotless record against India in ICC knockouts.