MUMBAI: Iconic players from different sports arrived at the Wankhede Stadium to witness the semi-final clash between India and New Zealand on Wednesday.
On November 15, Sachin made his international debut against Pakistan in 1989, and on the same day today, he met two sporting icons at the Wankhede Stadium.
ICC on Instagram posted a story of cricket icons Viv Richards and Sachin Tendulkar meeting before the clash. Sachin was visibly smiling while Richards stood wearing a white shirt and black glasses.
While the cricket royalties met, football icon David Beckham arrived at Wankhede and met as well as interacted with Sachin as well as some players from the Indian team on the ground.
Outside the stadium, fans have turned up in numbers wearing the shades of blue to support the host.
India’s fan, Dharamveer Pal says, “We are very excited. This is a big match. India won the last 9 matches very well. The atmosphere within the team and among fans is being carried by the entire India. This is Semi Final so there will obviously be a little pressure. But the important thing is that we have done well in earlier matches and even defeated New Zealand…I urge all Indians to pay for Team India. All 140 crore Indians will want India to reach Ahmedabad (for the finals).”
Coming to the match, India won the toss and opted to bat first against New Zealand.
After the toss, the Kiwis’ skipper Kane Williamson admitted that they wanted to bat first as well and said, “We would have batted first. Looks like a used pitch. We would want to do well with the ball and then hopefully, some dew later. Amazing occasion. Four years ago, similar situation but a different location. They have been playing some good cricket. Always a building phase between the tournaments. Need to assess what is in front of you when the tournament starts. We are going with the same team from the previous match.”
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj
New Zealand (Playing XI): Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson(c), Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham(w), Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Mark Chapman, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult. (ANI)