The World Cup 2019 might be over for Pakistanis but plenty is at stake for India and New Zealand today as they face off in the first semi-final at Manchester.
The clash would be a recap of 2008 Under-19 World Cup when Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson came head to head in the semi-final. The two were captaining their respective teams as India Under-19 emerged victors. Virat Kohli was declared the man of the match in that match. India later went on to win the tournament by beating South Africa in the final.
Let’s have a look at the match details and probable playing XIs for today’s match:
Match Details
- Match Time:Â 2:30 pm PST
- Venue:Â Old Trafford Stadium, Manchester
- Weather:Â Overcast conditions are expected in Manchester today
- Toss:Â To be decided
Team Updates
New Zealand will have a rejuvenated pace battery following the return of Lockie Ferguson and he is expected to replace the out of form Tim Southee.
India will have plenty of decisions to make. They have to decide between Ravindra Jadeja and Kedar Jadhav as well as whether or not to play two wrist spinners. One out of Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Mohammad Shami might also have to sit out the match.
Probable Playing XIs
India
KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (C), Rishabh Pant, MS Dhoni (WK), Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah
New Zealand
Martin Guptill, Tom Blundell, Kane Williamson (C), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham (WK), James Neesham, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult
Players to Watch Out For
India
Rohit Sharma has already hit 5 centuries in this World Cup, which is the most number of hundreds for a batsman in any edition of the mega event. New Zealand will have to get him out early otherwise he has a knack of converting his starts into big hundreds.
New Zealand
Trent Boult will have to step up his game if New Zealand is to restrict Indian top order. If he gets firing early, India can end up in trouble considering their lower order hasn’t done much batting this tournament.
Stats
Rohit Sharma (647) is just 26 runs short of Sachin Tendulkar’s record of most runs in a World Cup. He scored 673 in 2003 World Cup. The last time India lost to New Zealand was in their home series earlier this year when Kohli XI was bundled out for 92. Trent Boult ripped apart the Indian batting line up with a destructive 5-21.
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NZ Harega : Pakistan NZ Se Bohat Behtar tha :
New Zealand will Win!