Assured of a semifinal slot, India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate hinted that the team might ring in some changes in the bowling attack for its last group match against New Zealand on Sunday. At the same time, Doeschate said the side would not compromise on the balance as it also wants to top the group with an all-win preliminary campaign. New Zealand have also already qualified for the semifinals after two wins and Sunday's match will decide the Group A topper. "We've had two pretty tough training sessions, so that's been the preparation. In terms of the bench strength, I think the priority is making sure that we have our best guys available and fully fit for the second game (semifinal on March 4)," Doeschate told reporters.
"But we also don't want to rest them for another two days. So to get that balance right, we might just try to share the bowling out a little bit. But we obviously want to win against New Zealand as well.
"It's important that we keep that momentum going. And obviously to top the group as well. So the balance of those two things I just mentioned for the selection to be thought about," he added.
Asked about captain Rohit Sharma's fitness after an injury scare in the game against Pakistan, he said, "He's all right. You can see he's batting a little bit further than earlier. It's an injury he's had before, so he knows how to manage it really well." Doeschate admitted that Sunday's match could be a contest of spin between the two sides.
"...they (New Zealand) have four spinners as well, so it could be a contest of spin. Coming into the competition, we weren't expecting such an over-reliance in spin.
"But the guys have bowled nicely and the pitch has helped a little bit, so I'm sure it's going to be
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