Having just arrived back from India, 1News' Sean Nugent writes there is no team the Indian public fear more in a semi-final than New Zealand.
Wednesday’s Cricket World Cup semi-final clash between the Black Caps and India is as much of a David v Goliath match-up as one can get.
India come into the game having won all of their nine group matches without even breaking a sweat. Their batsmen are all in form while their bowlers have ripped teams apart.
New Zealand, meanwhile, have been inconsistent and struggled to contain teams with the ball on pitches offering little assistance.
In a game set to be played in front of more than 30,000 loud, passionate Indian fans at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, the result seems like a foregone conclusion.
But there is no team the Indian public fear more in a semi-final than the Black Caps.
I have just returned from India after three weeks following the Black Caps and experiencing all the incredible country has to offer.
It was eye-opening speaking to hundreds of cricket fans around the country and coming to understand just how much they respect, love and fear the New Zealand cricket team.
As I exited Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium after New Zealand’s victory over Sri Lanka that guaranteed a semi-final against India, a group of boys, no older than 12, approached me and congratulated New Zealand on making the semi-final.
“New Zealand v India will be a good game,” one said.
“I hope so, but we’re not very good,” I replied.
“No, New Zealand is scary, we don’t want to play New Zealand,” the boy said.
It was odd given the Black Caps had hardly set the world on fire in that in the tournament compared to the likes of South Africa or Australia, yet it was a sentiment that had rung true throughout the trip.
Nearly three weeks earlier at a train station in Delhi, as my friends and I waited for a train to Agra, a group of men noticed we were wearing Black Caps shirts and began chatting to us about the World Cup.
“If not India, I would like New Zealand or South Africa to win,” one said. “Because they have never won it before.”
They, and subsequently many others, recalled the heartbreaking 2019 final loss with much sympathy, so much so you’d nearly think it was India that had lost the World Cup on a boundary countback.
A few days later in the hill station of Dharamsala, at the foot of the Himalayas, we found ourselves among thousands of Indian fans watching the Black Caps take on Australia.
Despite being neutral cricket lovers, there was a clear sense that the crowd was right behind New Zealand as they came oh so close to chasing down a mammoth 388.
When Jimmy Neesham was run out in the final over, effectively ending New Zealand’s chances, the crowd sighed in disappointment, as if it was their own team falling short.
The day prior I had worn my Black Caps shirt on a hike up the local “hill” (2800m), and was mistaken for lanky allrounder Mitchell Santner.
I had photos taken with men, women, children, families, the lot, all beaming and starstruck having “met” a cricketer from New Zealand, who they all said was their second favourite team behind India. One man even told me he hoped his son would one day be as good a cricketer as me. I hope for his son’s sake he can be a bit better than that.
So just why are the Indian fans so enamoured and fearful of this New Zealand cricket side?
Well, history plays a big part.
Four years ago India were stunned at the same stage by the Black Caps in a monumental upset. Two years later, the Black Caps again beat the heavy favourite India in the World Test Championship final to claim the inaugural title.
These are scars that have clearly remained fresh on the minds of the Indian faithful.
Secondly, the Indian public love the sport more than anyone, and appreciate good cricket when they see it.
In Bengaluru, the cheers when Kane Williamson came out to bat were louder than I’ve ever heard for the New Zealand captain on his own shores.
When Daryl Mitchell slammed sixes into the stands, the crowd erupted.
Chants of "Rachin! Rachin!" erupted around the ground, just as they did in Dharamsala, as young star Rachin Ravindra - who most in the crowd had probably never heard of prior to the tournament - played another impressive innings. More than just fans of India, they are fans of the game.
Come Wednesday, there is no doubt that the crowd of Wankhede, and all of India, will be right behind their team.
With that will come the pressure and weight of expectation, and the hushed fear that New Zealand will come back and haunt them once again.
But even if such a shock were to happen, I’m sure the Black Caps would pick up 1.4 billion fans for the final.
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