Team India will face a tough test when they face New Zealand in the first semi-final of the 2019 World Cup at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Manchester. It is a clash which sees the top team in the points table face off against the fourth-placed side. It is also the first time that Virat Kohli and Co will come up against the Kiwis in the 2019 World Cup as their round robin match was washed out at Trent Bridge.

The Indian team is heavily favoured to win in Manchester due to their impressive record in the round robin stage where they accumulated 7 wins out 8. Meanwhile, New Zealand after starting the campaign with 5 straight victories, are on 3-match losing run in the World Cup. But India will be vary of the threat provided by the New Zealand players.

At the World Cup, India doesn’t hold an impressive record against the Black Caps. Their record becomes worse if we take into consideration the World Cup matches played in England. Team India have never defeated New Zealand in a World Cup match held in England. Their record states- 3 matches, 3 losses against the Kiwis. In the last match played at the World Cup in England, India lost to New Zealand by five wickets.

In the current scenario, India have evolved to become the bookmakers favourite to win the title in England. The opening pair of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul have performed exceptionally well at this tournament with Rohit going on to score 5 hundreds. Virat Kohli has stabilized the middle-order and has 5 fifties in the showpiece event. Their middle-order has looked a bit shaky with Rishabh Pant, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya failing to fire consistently.

With Jasprit Bumrah in top form, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammad Shami have had the time to get their lines right. On the other hand, New Zealand’s batting has looked overtly dependent on Kane Williamson to score and would need the other batters to rise upto the occasion on Tuesday. The match would be decided on how the lethal New Zealand bowling attack performs against the Indian batters.

First Published: Jul 08, 2019 19:29 IST