The Indian cricket team will be in action on Diwali as they face Netherlands in their last league game of the Cricket World Cup 2023 on November 12. The squad and the support staff celebrated the festival with close family and friends at the team hotel in Bengaluru a day before. KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma shared pics from the Diwali Party on their social media accounts.
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One can see the cricketers wearing Kurta-Pyjamas in the Diwali party as they enjoy the food and have a relaxed time ahead of the tensed next week.
Check pics from Team India’s Diwali Party here:
From us to all of you, Happy Diwali ___ pic.twitter.com/vXA8CiGt7A
— K L Rahul (@klrahul) November 11, 2023
___ _______ ___ pic.twitter.com/Fgjrwf4V3A
— Rohit Sharma (@ImRo45) November 11, 2023
___ _______ _ pic.twitter.com/yIfGnwNmUv
— Ishan Kishan (@ishankishan51) November 11, 2023
Happy Diwali pic.twitter.com/YVIgOVvzgn
— ________ _____ (@MdShami11) November 11, 2023
India is set to finish as the league stage topper irrespective of the result of the game vs Netherlands. However, the Men in Blue are likely to beat the Dutch and will start as favourites in the game.
The bigger task is after the Netherlands match. India meet New Zealand in the first semi-final clash in Mumbai on November 15. Team India will be aiming for a revenge of the loss to New Zealand in the semis of 2019 World Cup. It is a repeat of that semifinal.
While the hosts have been in great form throughout the tournament, the knockouts are a different beast. If India go past Black Caps, it will do a lot to their confidence for the final. In the second semi-final just the next day, Australia play South Africa at Kolkata.
Team India’s road to semi-finals
India have dominated the league stage so far. They have played with utmost authority, winning 8 out of 8 matches with no team giving a tough challenge to the host nation. The Rohit Sharma-led team started off their journey with a win over Australia. After being three wickets down for single digits in a small chase, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul effected the revival and took the team to an emphatic win. That was a great start for India. India then beat Afghanistan before meeting arch-rivals Pakistan. They crushed the Babar Azam’s side and from thereon, the dominance continued as India beat Bangladesh, New Zealand, England, South Africa and Sri Lanka.
Two more wins for India in the next 3 potential games can win them their third ODI World Cup, which will also end India’s long wait for an ICC trophy. The Men in Blue last won a ICC silverware back in 2013 when the MS Dhoni-led side beat England in the final of ICC Champions Trophy.