The ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 has entered the business end with the semifinal round around the corner, in the first last-four clash – India will take on New Zealand at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Wednesday. India were the only beaten side in the tournament thus far but they face a litmus test against New Zealand, who enjoy good records against them in the ICC knockouts. The Men in Blue will look to take revenge for the 2019 WC semi-final heartbreaking defeat. It has been a perfect campaign for Rohit Sharma and Co. thus far as they are the hot-favourites to lift the converted trophy. Meanwhile, New Zealand have been the most consistent side over the last decade as they reached the finals of the last two editions of the ODI World Cup – 2015 and 2019 and will look for a hat-trick this time in the quest to claim their first WC title.
Here are the key battles to look out for in the mega India vs New Zealand semi-final clash.
Rohit Sharma vs Trent Boult: The mega battle between the two premier players of their departments is going to be crucial in the context of the result of the match. If Rohit manages to continue his powerplay onslaught against New Zealand then it is going to be easy for the other batters but if Boult turns out to be his kryptonite then things might go haywire for the Indian team. It is a big match-up as Rohit has some weakness in front of left-arm pacers and Boult is the best in the business at the moment. In the past, Boult has dismissed Rohit four times in 14 ODIs. The Hitman’s strike against the Kiwi paceman is also a bit under par – 68.58.
Virat Kohli vs Mitchell Santner: It’s another big match-up which is going to set the tone of the big clash. Kohli has struggled a bit against the left-arm spinners in recent times and was also castled by Roelof van der Merwe in the clash against Netherlands. The batting maestro also relies heavily on strike rotation in the middle overs and that’s where Santner spins his web. The left-arm spinner has to push the star batter into a shell to put him under pressure as Kohli has been seen committing false shots to break shackles in the tournaments. Meanwhile, Santner has dismissed Kohli thrice in 15 ODIs.
Rachin Ravindra vs Jasprit Bumrah: Ravindra has been the most promising young batter in the World Cup and running toe-to-toe with Virat Kohli and Quinton de Kock in the race for golden bat. However, the Kiwi batter has to tackle Jasprit Bumrah’s new ball at his den, the Wankhede Stadium. Bumrah knows the conditions very well and has been in tremendous form this World Cup. The stats can’t justify his contribution to the team as the pressure he built with the new ball has helped the other bowlers to take advantage of it. Ravindra batted at the number 3 spot in the league stage match against India where he scored 75 runs, he batted cautiously at the start but the semi-final pressure is going to be a bit higher.
Kane Williamson vs Mohammed Shami: This battle might also decide the fate of the two teams. Williamson has been the player for New Zealand who has rescued his side from the tricky stages on many big occasions and the Kiwi fans will once again rely on their skipper to get the job done against the hosts. However, the high-flying Shami will be a big roadblock on the way for Williamson. Shami has been the best bowler in the tournament thus far with 16 wickets in just 5 matches. He remained wicketless only in the last match against the Netherlands. Shami has to produce something special to get rid of Williamson early to make things easy for India.
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