PHOTO: Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar discussing with David Beckham with handshake at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai

Information reaching Kossyderrickent has it that Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar having a conversation with David Beckham with handshake at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

After 42 days of non-stop cricketing action, the ICC World Cup 2023 knockouts get underway with the first semi-final between India and New Zealand on Thursday. The stage for the epic battle is set at the iconic Wankhede Stadium and the environment got more electrifying when ace Indian batter Virat Kohli met the English soccer legend David Beckham, who was accompanied with batting great Sachin Tendulkar.

Speaking about IND vs NZ match, there is a fair share of history among these teams. India are yet to win a knockout match against the Kiwis in the World Cup. The last time these two teams faced, India lost the match by 18 runs. It was also MS Dhoni’s last international match.

Earlier, India won the toss and opted to bat first. Speaking at the toss, captain Rohit Sharma recalled India’s loss in the 2019 World Cup semi-final, highlighting the consistency of the Black Caps.

“We are gonna bat first. Looks like a good pitch. Looks like on the slower side. Whatever we do, we need to do well. I think it was back in 2019 when we played the semis. NZ is one of the most consistent sides. Very important day. Constantly, talking about how important it is about turning up on that day. It is about controlling the controllables. Same team,” Rohit said at the toss.

The build-up to the match was largely overshadowed by a row over the pitch. The game was ultimately played on a used surface after a change by local officials.

Pitches are selected and prepared by the local groundstaff and authority with oversight from the International Cricket Council’s pitch consultant, but a used surface was always likely to heavily favour the home side.

Speaking ahead of the toss, India skipper Rohit Sharma, who chose to bat said: ‘It looks like a good pitch, on the slower side as well but whatever we do, we know we’ve got to do that well.