India vs New Zealand 1st Semi-Final live Cricket World Cup
Beyond the context of the game - a chance to grab that Sunday date at Lord's - this India-New Zealand contest is best setup through the prism of their two leaders, who squared off in that U19 World Cup semifinal of 2008. Virat Kohli is still the impassioned, exhibitionist leader who bares his emotions on the field. He will yelp, plead, jump and feel every pulsating moment of a contest. While you almost always know where the Indian captain is fielding, Kane Williamson silently drifts off to sweeper cover at times, from where he coldly runs his hoodwink job - often with a silent nod of appreciation or the shrug of the shoulder.
New Zealand, understated as they might be, have bigger problems, not least their run of three consecutive defeats heading into this clash. In five of the eight completed league games, Williamson has come out to bat inside the third over, red-lining the team's opening crisis. When the ace No.3 does walk out on Tuesday, expect his opposite number to throw in a spinner at him. Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav and even Kedar Jadhav have accounted for the New Zealand skipper two times each in ODI cricket at less than a run a ball.
Quite apart from tactics and strategy, these games, as Kohli often reiterates, are about handling the pressure and the occasion. There are stalwarts from both sides - MS Dhoni and Ross Taylor - who may be playing their last World Cup, so that allure of the Lord's final will be that much more stronger.
When : India vs New Zealand, 1st Semifinal, CWC19, 10:30 Local, 15:00 IST
Where : Old Trafford, Manchester
What to expect : A partly cloudy day in Manchester with a very slight chance of rain.
India : Bhuvneshwar Kumar's injury midway through the tournament forced India to ponder their batting depth. A 7-11 of Kuldeep, Shami, Chahal and Bumrah with the middle-order uncertainties they already had was worrisome. So they abandoned one of the wrist spinners for extra batting cushion. It is a formula that's left them playing with exactly five bowlers. Dinesh Karthik's lengthy net session would indicate he stays at No.7. India will be tempted to reunite the wristies given the pair's success in New Zealand early this year. If not they'll have to pick one and pair him with Jadeja coming in at No.8. It's a tricky call with merits on each side.
Probable XI : Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (c), Rishabh Pant, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja/Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar/Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah
New Zealand :The scourge of the opening combination has not left Williamson. Scores of 0 and 8 from two innings for Henry Nicholls has meant New Zealand now have three under-performing openers from which they have to pick two. Nicholls could keep his place given India, and particularly Bumrah, appears to has worked out Colin Munro. However, New Zealand aren't too far from a more dramatic re-jig either - which could see Tom Latham move up to the top and Nicholls to the middle, which the latter prefers. Lockie Ferguson, meanwhile, will return to the XI after being rested against England as a precautionary measure over his tight hamstrings.
Probable XI : Martin Guptill, Henry Nicholls/Colin Munro, Kane Williamson (c), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham (wk), James Neesham, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult
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India vs New Zealand 1st Semi-Final live Cricket World Cup
