India will take on New Zealand in the first semi-final of the ICC World Cup 2023 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on November 15.
India head coach Rahul Dravid has no hesitation in admitting that his side's ICC World Cup semi-final against New Zealand on Wednesday would be a high-pressure game and there are simply no guarantees even after a near flawless performance in the nine league games.
India have not progressed past the semis in the last two World Cups, suffering heartbreaking defeats against New Zealand and Australia in 2019 and 2015, respectively.
India feeling the nerves
"I would be in-authentic if I say that there will be no pressure of semi-final. You have no guarantees to win any game of cricket. What you can do is prepare the best you can and we've been doing that," Dravid told Star Sports after India's 160-run win over the Netherlands.
It now boils down to two good matches and everything could come to a naught if India lose to a team that had caused them grief in 2019.
Things going as per plan until...
"When it's going well it looks good. One loss and everyone says you don't know anything," Dravid replied cheekily when told about how the broadcasters were analysing his performance in the league games.
Dravid was particularly happy with how Shreyas Iyer has been showing consistency at the back-end of the tournament.
"Shreyas Iyer is the backbone of our middle order, and we all know how tough it has been for us to find a good No. 4 batter for the last 10 years," Dravid said.
