Martin Guptill walks off after losing his wicket (Source: Reuters)India vs New Zealand (IND vs NZ), World Cup 2019 Semi-Final: New Zealand top order was tested by Indian opening bowlers in overcast conditions at Manchester, Old Trafford in the World Cup 2019 semi-final on Tuesday. The first run of New Zealand’s innings came on the 17th ball of the match as Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled with pin-point accuracy. The Blackcaps scored just 27 runs in the first powerplay overs for the loss of one wicket registering the lowest powerplay score in World Cup 2019.
Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar gave no extras in their first spell. The first wide of the match was bowled in the 10th over of the innings by Hardik Pandya.
Before New Zealand, India scored the lowest total in this World Cup. They had scored 28/1 in 10 overs against England. This was followed by West Indies’ 29/2 vs India, New Zealand’s 30/2 and 31/1 vs West Indies and Australia respectively.
New Zealand feature thrice in the top five lowest scores of the tournament. Kiwi top order has not been effective and too dependent on skipper Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor.
Once again, Martin Guptill failed to impress as he struggled to play the new ball and find gaps. The pressure of dot balls mounted on the opener and he lost his wicket after scoring just one run. He played as many as 13 dot deliveries in his innings.
The 32-year-old lost his wicket to Bumrah in the fourth over as he edged the ball to slip fielder Virat Kohli. He has scored just 169 runs from 9 matches at a disappointing average of 20.88.
