"Come finals time, anything can happen" - Kane Williamson upbeat about facing India in the 2023 World Cup semi-final

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson was unperturbed by his side being labeled the underdog for the marquee semi-final against Team India in Mumbai on Wednesday.

The Men in Blue have won all nine games during the league stages and finished on top of the points table. Meanwhile, the Blackcaps had their ups and downs with a terrific start followed by a slew of losses that eventually saw them finish fourth with 10 points in nine matches.

Speaking to reporters before the semi-final clash, Williamson admitted to India being favorites but reminded that anything is possible in the knockout stages.

"The underdog thing.. from what you guys write, I don't think it has changed too much," Kane Williamson said. "But that's fine. India have been exceptional. They are one of the, if not the best teams going around, playing cricket that matches that.

"But we know as well, on that day if we play our best cricket, it certainly gives us the best chance. Come finals time, anything can happen."

New Zealand have inflicted the most pain on India in recent ICC events, ending their dream in the semi-final of the 2019 edition and winning the WTC final in 2021.

Kane Williamson talked about how any team can beat the other in the knockouts, depending on the performances and conditions on that particular day.

"Every game in this tournament is a tricky one as we have seen throughout," he continued. "Any team can beat anybody on that days because of the quality on both sides and also the change in conditions has an impact.

"For us, it's great to have got to the semi-finals stage and take a fresh approach because it does start again."

In the earlier meeting between the sides in the tournament, India registered a convincing win by four wickets at Dharamsala.

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"It's going to be a really tough challenge" - Kane Williamson

India and New Zealand face off in a highly-anticipated semi-final.

Kane Williamson admitted defeating India in the semi-final would be an arduous challenge but wanted his side to focus on playing quality cricket.

In a similar No.1 vs No. 4 semi-final four years ago, the Blackcaps stunned the more-fancied Indian side by 18 runs at Manchester. The Kiwis have also upstaged India in nine out of 13 matches in ICC white-ball events.

"We know it's going to be a really tough challenge," Kane Williamson continued. "They are a side that has been playing extremely well. But we also know that come finals time, everything sort of starts again, and it's all about the day. For us, as a team, the focus is pretty much on our cricket.

"We have played pretty good cricket throughout. We have had a few narrow losses and a few good wins along the way which has put us in this position."

A win would help New Zealand advance to their third consecutive ODI World Cup final where they will meet either Australia or South Africa.

Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma's men are looking to break their ICC trophy jinx and clinch the title for the first time since the 2013 Champions Trophy.