India will lock horns against New Zealand in the first semifinal of the ongoing World Cup 2023 at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Wednesday. The hosts will aim to break their knockout hoodoo and get a positive result against the Kiwis, who have troubled them in the past.
However, India registered a four-wicket win against the Blackcaps in the league stage after Mohammed Shami bagged a five-wicket haul whereas Virat Kohli scored 95 runs in the run-chase. Thus, that win must have given a lot of confidence to the Indians.
India has had a near-perfect campaign so far, winning all of their nine league-stage matches. The home team has looked unbeatable so far and they will like to carry the same form in the knockouts, where there will be no tomorrow if they lose.
India has ticked the right boxes as a unit and they have come up with a collective effort with both bat and ball. On the other hand, New Zealand has once again punched above their weight and they have the players to stun India, like they had done in the 2019 World Cup semifinal.
Rachin Ravindra has been a huge positive for the team as he has scored consistently at the top of the order but the Kiwis will certainly miss the services of Matt Henry. Kane Williamson has played a key role and the Blackcaps skipper is going to hold the key in the middle order. With the ball, Trent Boult and Mitchell Santner will be the big threats for the Rohit Sharma-led team.
Match Prediction: It could be a close match but India will start as favorites against New Zealand as they have got all bases covered and there are no weak links in the team.
India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Prasidh Krishna, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav.
New Zealand squad: Kane Williamson (c), Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitch Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Will Young.
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