IND Vs NZ: Explaining How Mumbai Sea Breeze Can Help Pacers Pick Early Wickets In First Powerplay At Wankhede During World Cup Semi-Finals

Swinging deliveries could turn out to be differentiator in the World Cup's first semi-final between India and New Zealand as the Mumbai sea breeze is said to help the swing bowlers a lot more in the evening time.

Bumrah, Southee, Shami and Boult. (Source: ANI)

India captain Rohit Sharma feels that he has played enough at the Wankhede cricket stadium in Mumbai to understand that the toss does not play a big role over there. India take on New Zealand in the first semi-final on Wednesday. All eyes will be on how the Indian team tackles the challenge of the knockout pressure vs a team who have caused them a lot of trouble in the last four years. The likes of Trent Boult, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson and Tim Southee have been exceptional with the ball against India in the past ICC tournaments. If India decide to bat first against them in the semis, they could be found out again in the first powerplay. There's a reason for it which will discuss later in this article.

Likewise, Indian pacers are in great form. While Jasprit Bumrah is getting the move move due to his incredible wrist, Mohammed Shami has been excellent with his upright seam position. Mohammed Siraj pitches the ball up in the initial overs and can get big swing if the ball starts talking.

Prepping _ for the big clash in Mumbai __#TeamIndia | #CWC23 | #MenInBlue | #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/xwu9W0qgA3 — BCCI (@BCCI) November 14, 2023

Facing swing bowling in the first powerplay could turn out to be a difficult task at Wankhede. The pacers get a lot of help from the sea breeze that flows in the evening time. In case you did not know, Wankhede is place right besides the Marine Drive and the sea breeze at the twilight does affect the swing.

"There’s a saying in Mumbai that if you are batting in Mumbai, that too in the evening, then wait for the first 10 overs. That’s when the evening breeze is passing by. Respect that. It can cost a batsman his wicket," Nadeem Memon, a former curator at Wankhede told Indian Express.

“The pitch is made of red soil, which helps the ball to grip. So, if a seamer can land the ball on the seam, it can generate swing. Bounce is common at this ground (but) the breeze gives an extra weapon to the pacers,” Memon added.

Both the sides have fast bowlers who are as good with seam as with swing. Speaking purely from India's perspective, they may not like batting second as they will have to face two of the best in the world in form of Boult and Southee who are quite deadly with swing bowling. For India, Siraj is a genuine swing bowler while Bumrah also swings it big.