World Cup Semifinal, India vs New Zealand: India Probable Playing XI, New Zealand Probable Playing XI

India and New Zealand will face off in the first semi-final of the World Cup 2019 at Old Trafford in Manchester on Tuesday. The two teams didn't play each other in the league stage of the 10-team round-robin tournament as the match in Nottingham was abandoned due to rain. Under the captaincy of Virat Kohli, India finished the league stage on the top of the points table with seven wins in nine matches. Kane Williamson-led New Zealand, on the other hand, finished fourth to seal a semi-final berth with a better net run rate than equally placed Pakistan.

Old Trafford, which saw India beat Pakistan and the West Indies in league stage, might witness some rain in the first semi-final. Even though the sky is expected to be cloudy throughout the day, a no-result is a remote possibility.

In case of a washout, the match will resume on the reserve day on Wednesday.

There are indications that India may include Yuzvendra Chahal in the playing XI after resting him for their last league stage match against Sri Lanka on Saturday. Also there are indications that Mayank Agarwal, who was flown in as a replacement for Vijay Shankar, could be considered as an opener, with KL Rahul being sent back to the No. 4 position. However, that would lead to a toss-up between Agarwal and Dinesh Karthik. Karthik was seen engaged in a lengthy net session and would be expecting to play.

The question remains about who will be dropped when Chahal returns. Kuldeep Yadav, the other wrist spinner in the squad, hasn't been impressive. There could well be a situation that Kuldeep is left out and Jadeja kept in the XI.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who replaced Mohammed Shami in the last match, is also expected to play as India's formula of five bowlers worked well for them at Headingley.

For New Zealand, opener Henry Nicholls has failed to impress much with the willow. After being replaced with Colin Munro, he managed scored of zero and eight in his last two matches.

Munro, who lost his wicket for 12, zero and nine before being dropped, is expected to make a comeback.

Probable XI:

India: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (capt), Rishabh Pant, MS Dhoni (wk), Mayank Agarwal/Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah.

New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson (capt), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham (wk), James Neesham, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult.

Squads:

India: KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (capt), Rishabh Pant, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav, Mayank Agarwal.

New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Henry Nicholls, Kane Williamson (capt), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham (wk), James Neesham, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Matt Henry, Trent Boult, Tom Blundell, Lockie Ferguson, Colin Munro, Ish Sodhi.