India batters have bid goodbye to fear

India are unbeaten in the World Cup, their cricket has been exhilarating; the batting has been solid and the pacemen have called the shots. But waiting in the semi-finals are New Zealand again. They had faced off in the previous World Cup and try as one might, the memories are difficult to banish completely.

- Rasesh Mandani

A million-plus Indians have attended the World Cup; almost half the number coming from stands packed to the rafters for the India games. That's not to say the atmosphere was any less festive in 2019 when India won seven of their nine league matches (one was washed out) before the semi-final heartbreak in the United Kingdom; Indian fans are everywhere.

But India's road to semi-final qualification has a much more sorted feel this time around and that will give their supporters more hope. The most important change has been to the home team's batting template.

The top order was always India's engine room. They steered the team to the 2017 Champions trophy final and to the World Cup semis in 2019.

They would bat the bulk of the overs at a certain pace, creating the launch pad for the lower middle order to capitalise on. In both those tournaments, it worked until the knock-out rounds. Sadly, when it mattered most, they faltered and India were knocked out. One bad match or simply the wrong approach? In this World Cup, as if to course correct, when in doubt, India has attacked. It's helped that the pitches have been, by and large, batting friendly.

Every batter has shown a sense of urgency which has helped lift India's overall scoring rate from 5.66 in 2019 to 6.41-an uptick that translates into 38 runs more per innings.