India and New Zealand hope to settle scores once and for all as final berth awaits

With the group stages done and dusted, a new chapter awaits at the Wankhede as India gear up for the all-important semi-final clash against the same opposition who knocked them out of the 2019 World Cup after a war that left no stones unturned.

However, the situation is entirely different this time as the Men in Blue have been on a roll and there has been no stopping them. In fact, such has been the magnitude of the dominion that they have scripted victory margins of 100 runs, 302 runs, 243 runs and 160 runs in their last four wins.

New Zealand, to their credit, were in absolutely stellar touch in the tournament but a late stutter that saw them going down to the likes of India, Australia, South Africa and Pakistan in a rain-curtailed encounter will of course be a spirit dampener. However, the start that they got in the tournament saw them soaring with absolutely roaring spirits.

Yet, given India’s history in semi-finals, things have seemed slightly blurry as they went crashing out of the semis both in 2015 and 2019 while the 2022 T20 World Cup also saw the Men in Blue stuttering in the semi-finals against the eventual World Champions, England. But knowing cricket, knowing the uncertainties, knowing history, when two teams collide in an arena that promises nothing but an electric game of cricket, no history, no stature and no pen and paper myths take the fore. It is the two teams vying for glory that sets a new precedent.

Venue Watch:

Wankhede has always been a batting surface and with the dew factor coming in, batting second will be easier considering the ball getting wet and harder to grip for the bowlers. With that being said, the kind of swing bowling that India has produced in this World Cup under the lights, playing that isn’t easy either with Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj spitting fire. It is hard to predict what should be the ideal option to do if one wins the toss, but then batting second has always been favourable if one can brave the early storm.

Head to Head:

Matches played: 117

India – 59

New Zealand - 50

Match Details:

Match – India vs New Zealand

Venue: Wankhede, Mumbai

Date: 14th November, 2023

Time: 2:00 PM

World Cup face-offs:

Matches played: 10

India: 4

New Zealand: 5

Squads:

India: Rohit Sharma (c), 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, Prasidh Krishna

New Zealand: Kane Williamson* (capt), Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham (wk), Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Will Young