"Hopefully, we can hear a pin drop and a bit of silence" - Mitchell Santner on facing Team India in 2023 World Cup semi-final

New Zealand spinner Mitchell Santner hopes to hear 'pin drop' silence at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai during the 2023 World Cup semi-final against India. The left-arm spinner believes wickets are the only way to stop India from scoring big.

India and New Zealand will cross paths again in the tournament, when they clash in the semi-final clash on Wednesday in Mumbai. The two sides met in Dharamsala during the group stages. India beat the Kiwis by four wickets, courtesy of an anchor innings from Virat Kohli (95).

During a media interaction, Santner suggested that assessing the pitch correctly and restricting Team India's batting unit will be crucial for the Kiwis. As quoted by stuff.co.nz, Santner stated:

"Hopefully we can hear a pin drop and a bit of silence – then we’re obviously doing alright. We'll have a look at the pitch and see what happens, but we know how destructive their top six, top seven are. It seems like the only way you can kind of slow these guys down is taking wickets up front, so that's obviously a big part of it."

The 31-year-old has been in fantastic form in the tournament, bowling miserly spells along with taking wickets. In nine matches, he has claimed 16 scalps at an average of 18.25 alongside an economy rate of 3.97.

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"It did silence the crowd a bit" - Mitchell Santner on 2019 World Cup semi-final

New Zealand national cricket team. (Credits: Getty)

Santner remembered the 2019 World Cup semi-final in Manchester, where New Zealand beat India by 18 runs. A turning point in the match was the run out of MS Dhoni. Recalling the incident, the Hamilton-born cricketer elaborated:

"It was pretty surreal. Obviously the start we had was unbelievable and it did silence the crowd a bit. I remember being out at deep point off Lockie [Ferguson] and they were still in the game and [MS Dhoni] cut one over me for six and that was ridiculous. [The fans] were like ‘These guys are going to win this' and then obviously the run-out [of Dhoni by a direct hit from Martin Guptill] changed things and we silenced them again."

Santner was the most economical bowler for the Kiwis in that game, claiming figures of 10-2-34-2, dismissing Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant.