India vs Pakistan 2023 Cricket World Cup

ia vs New Zealand: Pitch & Weather Report

The Wankhede Stadium may seem favorable for batsmen, with small boundaries, but it offers very well-balanced pitches. Swing bowlers receive some help from the pitch. Spinners also take some wickets in middle overs.

The ball may seam and swing under lights for around 15 overs, which will be very challenging for the batters. But later, the dew will make it easy in the second inning, which makes bowling first an ideal choice for the toss-winning team. The average first innings score in ODI at the Wankhede Stadium is just 248 runs.

The expected daytime temperature in Mumbai is approximately 34 degrees Celsius, with mild cloud cover, while the nighttime temperature is approximately 25 degrees Celsius.

India vs New Zealand: head-to-head

Apart from their meeting in the league phase on October 22, which India won comfortably, the two sides also met in a three-match ODI series back in January this year, in which the Men in Blue recorded a clean sweep over the Black Caps.

This semi-final will be the 118th ODI encounter between the two sides. In their 117 head-to-head clashes in the ODI format, India holds a slight upper hand over New Zealand, with 59 victories to New Zealand’s 50 triumphs. One match ended in a tie, and seven matches concluded with no result.

India vs New Zealand: players to watch

Both sides have several match-winning players, and a number of them can deal with the pressure that comes with a semi-final.

Although Virat Kohli is the top run-scorer for India with 594 runs at a strike rate of 88, it has been captain Rohit Sharma’s positive intent upfront that has helped India get a good head start in their batting effort. The Mumbai Indians batsman’s 503 runs have come at a strike rate of 121.49, taking run-rate pressure off those in the middle order.

Returning from respective injuries, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul have repaid the faith shown in them by the team management, with both bagging centuries against the Netherlands last time out. Suryakumar Yadav has also impressed with his 360-degree batting style in the limited opportunities he has got.

In the bowling department, the pace trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Mohammed Shami have fired on all cylinders and outpaced their counterparts comfortably, while Ravindra Jadeja and left-arm Chinaman Kuldeep Yadav have both made life difficult for opposition batters with their clever variations.

As for New Zealand, if Trent Boult and Tim Southee find themselves in the groove, they ought to make the two new balls talk with deadly inswingers. High-quality left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner is another one to watch: 15 of his 16 wickets in this World Cup have been of right-handed batters. India don’t have any left-hand batter before No. 7, making it an intriguing battle.

The visitors’ boast high-class Test match batsmen in Devon Conway and Kane Williamson to navigate what is sure to be a tricky passage of play against those new balls. All-rounder Rachin Ravindra has been in stellar form in this World Cup, hitting 565 runs in 9 WC matches and is third among ICC World Cup 2023 top scorers. After that, Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips add a blend mix of conventional batsmanship and T20-style firepower to round off a very strong batting lineup.

India vs New Zealand FAQs

When was the last time the pair met at a Cricket World Cup?

It’s well-documented that New Zealand is India’s bogey team in ICC events. India has only recorded two wins over the Black Caps in ten attempts across ICC tournaments.

Both teams met against each other in a thrilling game at the 2019 Cricket World Cup in England. The game was played at Old Trafford, with a packed house of travelling Indian fans, who will still remember the gut-wrenching feeling after Martin Guptill’s amazing throw resulted in legendary captain MS Dhoni’s dismissal in what was the turning point of that match as the Kiwis went on to win the semi-final by 18 runs and faced England in one of the most exciting World Cup finals of all time.

Where is the Cricket World Cup taking place this year?

The ICC Cricket World Cup will return to India for the first time since 2011, when the nation shared hosting duties with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. That was also the last time the nation won the tournament, with the hosts winning the World Cup every tournament since then.

The competition will run from October 5 to November 19, with the final being staged in Ahmedabad, where India meets Pakistan.

How many times have India and New Zealand won the World Cup?

India have lifted the ODI World Cup twice, most recently, doing so in 2011 and prior to that in 1983. However, the Men in Blue haven’t reached any of the last five finals in ICC white-ball World Cups, while New Zealand have never won one, despite reaching three finals in seven years.