The league stage is done and time for the real test of the talents. India and New Zealand lock horns again in the semis of the ICC Men’s World Cup 2023 and it is no simple game as the haunt of the 2019 semis would still linger in the minds of the Indian fans. Who would turn victorious on the day? Will it be New Zealand eyeing for their third straight finals of the ODI World Cup or would India turn to go past the drought of the hold of the World Cup trophy since 2011? Wait and watch is the only answer.
India: The campaign of the Indian team in the 2023 ICC Men’s World cup is unreal as all the departments worked together to ensure they stayed at the top with a record maintained after the Australian team did it in 2003 WC – staying unbeaten in league stage. Two more wins and they would match the record of the Australian team of 2003 WC. Dravid and co were being criticized for the way they had been handling the team and this turnaround has made everyone wonder – what was the secret of this sudden turnaround when needed at the right time? Well, there is no time to ponder over it now as the focus is fully on the Indian camp to maintain the streak and ensure the hands are laid on the prestigious title.
New Zealand: The Blackcaps case is always intriguing. They start with a bang, go downhill, raise themselves up and somehow scrape through to the knockouts. Need to know what potion they drink to click at the right time and at the right place. But time has not been good for them since 2015 WC as this is going to be their third attempt to the finals if they win the match against India and would be vying for the touch of the trophy. Injury scares has been an issue with the New Zealand team and high time they draw plans on keeping their players fit for the major events. Rachin Ravindra and Mitchell Santner have been the saviours for the Black Caps and have also been the consistent performers in the World Cup and if these two get going, then there is no stopping of the team to reach the pinnacle. Will this be the pre-ultimate effort for to keep their hands on the trophy or the nemesis would haunt them again? Wait and watch.
Probable Playing XI:
India: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammad Shami, Mohammad Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav.
New Zealand: Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson (C), Daryll Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, Tom Latham (WK), Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult.
Interesting Facts and Stats:
(*) Tom Latham needs 48 runs to complete 4000 ODI runs.
(*) Shubman Gill is just 1 six away from 50 ODI sixes.
(*) Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammad Shami would play their 100th ODI.
(*) Only Ricky Ponting and Virender Sehwag (6) have more ODI 100s than Kohli(5) against New Zealand.
(*) Virat Kohli needs 80 runs & Rohit Sharma needs 171 runs to break Sachin Tendulkar's record of most runs in a World Cup edition.
(*) Shami needs 3 more wickets for 50 WC wickets.
(*) Rohit Sharma needs 15 fours to complete 1000 ODI fours.
(*) Kohli vs Boult in ODIs:
Runs: 145
Balls: 137
Outs: 3
S/R: 105.8
Avg: 48.3
(*) Rohit vs Boult in ODIs:
Runs: 107
Balls: 156
Outs: 4
S/R: 68.6
Avg: 26.8
(*) Across all international formats of ICC knockouts, Virat Kohli has scored 683 runs in 18 innings, only second to Ricky Ponting (731 in 18). Virat Kohli has never made a 100 though. In the 3 semifinals of ODI world cup, Virat has scored just 9,1,1.
(*) Trent Boult has 18 wickets in 10 innings across all ICC knockouts, 3rd only to Muralidharan and Glenn McGrath.
(*) Before Australia beat Afghanistan this world cup, the highest chase at Wankhede stadium was by NZ (284) against India in 2017 engineered by Tom Latham.
(*) India have played New Zealand thrice in an ICC knockout match (2000 CT finals, 2019 WC semi finals and 2021 WTC finals). They have lost all.
(*) Only Australia (1996-2007) and West Indies (1975-1983) have reached 3 consecutive world cup finals. NZ sit on 2 in a row.
(*) India's record in semi finals of World Cup:
Won vs Eng, 1983
Lost vs Eng, 1987
Lost vs SL,1996
Won vs Ken, 2003
Won vs Pak, 2011
Lost vs Aus, 2015
Lost vs NZ, 2019
(*) NZ's record in World Cup semifinals:
Lost vs WI, 1975
Lost vs England, 1979
Lost vs Pakistan, 1992
Lost vs Pakistan,1999
Lost vs SL, 2007
Lost vs SL, 2011
Won vs SA, 2015
Won vs India, 2019
Pitch, Weather, Toss and Venue (Credits: www.wionviews.com):
Historically, the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai has been known for its high-scoring encounters. The pitch is a batting wicket with small boundaries that give easy fours and sixes. However, from a bowling point of view, the pitch is known to assist spinners a bit. But the size of the boundaries might be a problem for slower bowlers.
The average first-inning score at this pitch is recorded at 261 runs. A total of 14 matches have been won on this pitch when chosen to bat first and while chasing 13 matches have been won. The highest score at the Wankhede Stadium is 438/4, scored by South Africa against hosts India in 2015.
Mumbai will have sunny weather with a minimum temperature of 26 degrees Celsius and a maximum temperature of 34 degrees Celsius. The day has no threat of rain with 44 per cent humidity in the air at a wind speed of 14 km per hour.
Date: 15th November 2023
Time: 2:00 PM IST
Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Dream XI Team:
