Ravi Shastri and Ricky Ponting looked at all four teams in the semi-finals during an event in Mumbai. The excitement has increased in the current ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 as the competition enters the knockout phase.
On Wednesday, November 15, India and New Zealand will face off in the first semi-final in Mumbai, while Australia and South Africa will compete in the second semi-final on November 16 in Kolkata.
Before these important matches, cricket legends Ravi Shastri and Ricky Ponting shared their thoughts on the upcoming games in the cricket extravaganza.
Shastri disclosed his predicted finalists, supporting India and Australia to compete in the final showdown on November 19 in Ahmedabad.
“On October 08 during India’s first game of the tournament, I said that this is the dress rehearsel of the final. I feel that these two sides will be seen clashing in the finals as well,” said Shastri in the ICC Quiz Night held at Glocal Junction in Mumbai.
At the same time, Ricky Ponting, the renowned Australian captain, emphasized that the coin toss would be a decisive factor in the second semi-final between Australia and South Africa at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
“The toss is going to play a crucial part in the second semi final as we saw during the game between India and South Africa that the pitch slowed down as the game progressed. Hence, the team batting first will have an advantage and toss will be crucial,” said Ponting.
India is determined to break their streak of losses in knockout matches against New Zealand
Moving forward in the tournament, they were tasked with selecting a player from the combined line-ups of India and New Zealand for their teams.
Ponting opted for the standout Indian batsman Virat Kohli, while Shastri chose the Indian captain Rohit Sharma, citing his astute captaincy throughout the tournament and dynamic batting at the top order.
India wants to change their luck in the first semi-final by winning, as they have struggled to get an ICC trophy even though they reached the knockout rounds in seven out of the last eight ICC events.
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