IND vs NZ: Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli Open Up The Challenge Of Facing New Zealand In ICC World Cup 2023

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma praised New Zealand for their tactical strength ahead of their upcoming match in the World Cup 2023. Rohit Sharma emphasized the New Zealand team’s ability to execute their plans effectively in both the bowling and batting departments.

The Rohit Sharma-led team will face the Tom Latham-led side in Dharamsala on Sunday, October 22. The Black Caps and the Men in Blue are the only two undefeated teams in the tournament thus far. The winner of this match will secure the top position in the table.

They Are Tactically Very Strong – Rohit Sharma

In a video shared by Star Sports on X, Rohit Sharma acknowledged that the New Zealand team will plan against each individual in the opposition team. Rohit highlighted the need for India to take their game to the next level when facing strong opponents.

“I think when I talk about tactical, New Zealand comes to my mind. To be honest, I feel that they are tactically very strong. They bowl and bat according to the plans that have been given to them,” Rohit told Star Sports.

I don’t know what happens inside the dressing room as to what they talk about the game and all that, but definitely, when you play against them, there is some sort of planning that has been done against each individual. We have to up our ante, and we just have to take our game to the next level.

Yes, they’ve beaten us in ICC tournaments regularly. So for us, it’s important that we try and understand the situation first, what is the situation of the team, and what we need to do as individuals, and then try and play the game,” he added.

They’re A Very Professional Side – Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli acknowledged New Zealand as a professional and consistently strong cricket side, giving them full credit for their structured approach to the game. The 34-year-old credited New Zealand for their impressive cricketing journey.

“They’re a very professional side, and they have a very structured way of playing their cricket. Within that structure, they are incredibly consistent, and that’s the key to their consistent success. They deserve full credit for the way they’ve played cricket,” Virat Kohli told Star Sports.

“Any team playing against them must find ways to disrupt their rhythm and perform to the best of their abilities, which will ultimately determine whether they can match their consistency. They don’t make many mistakes, and that’s their strength,” he further added.

“At the international level, if you don’t make many mistakes, you have a great chance of winning games more often than not. So, full credit goes to the way they’ve structured their cricket. Over the last six to seven years, they’ve come up in world trade in the last six-seven years, 2015 finalist and 2019 finalists, and they beat us in the ICC Test Championship finals as well. So, a big credit goes to them.”

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