IT'S ALL ABOUT THE NOW FOR INDIA IN 2019 SEMI-FINAL RETAKE

India and New Zealand are set for a repeat of the 2019 ICC World Cup semi-final when they meet in today’s first knockout match at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.

India were the overwhelming favourites to overcome the Black Caps in Manchester four years ago, but came unstuck against Kane Williamson’s gritty outfit.

The hosts are again in the pound seats this time around having gone unbeaten through the league phase of the campaign with nine straight victories.

New Zealand, meanwhile, scraped through as the last qualifying team in fourth place due to a victory over Sri Lanka in their final group match.

Will India therefore be looking for revenge for that 2019 semi-final defeat at Old Trafford?

“No,” India captain Rohit Sharma said. “I think it's very, you know, obviously in the back of your mind, you know what has happened in the past.

“But what has happened in the past is the past. What you can do today, what you can do tomorrow is what we usually talk about. So, I don't think there's much debate or much talk about what happened 10 years ago or five years ago or the last World Cup as well.

“I mean, for us, this current crop of players, they're very much into what is happening today, what can happen tomorrow. Those are the things they try and focus on.

“I don't see them talking about how we won the last World Cup, how we won our first World Cup. The focus is on how they can get better as a player, what they can bring to the team and what are the things they need to improve. So that's the beauty of the crop of players we have at this point in time. The focus is always on the present.”

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson also preferred not to dwell on the past, especially with the Old Trafford semi-final having been played over two days due to inclement weather.

“I think the game will be a little bit different. It might be played over one day rather than two, looking at the weather, but at the same time teams work hard to get to this stage, they have to play a lot of good cricket within the format or the structure of the tournament to get here over such a long period of time,” he said.

“It's a great occasion and it's on the day. Both teams are looking to play their best cricket and compete in the best way that they can.”

Williamson also claimed the Black Caps would not be overawed by the presence of a mass of sea of blue awaiting them when they walk out at the iconic Wankhede Stadium today.

“We’re expecting a fairly blue crowd that will be supporting their team and no doubt they'll be very passionate about that,” he said.

“But at the same time, I think as a player, when you get the opportunity to play in front of those sorts of crowds as well, it is special.”

While the partisan home support can serve at India’s 12th man, but at the same time it does create an immense amount of pressure on the home team.

Sharma feels that pressure is a privilege rather than a drawback.

“If you are an Indian cricketer, then whatever the format, whatever the tournament, there is always pressure,” he said.

“Look, from the first game to the last game, the last game we played in Bangalore, be it a league match, semi-final or final, whenever you play a World Cup game, there is always pressure. This is obvious because the World Cup is a World Cup, that's why there is pressure.

“But we have handled that pressure very well in the last 9 games. From the first game to the last game we played in Bangalore, the boys gave a good response. We were only focused on our game. We wanted to play good cricket which is what we did.”