🏏 Cricket World Cup 2023: Match #21: India vs New Zealand🏏

Happy Durga Ashtami to all my sports forum friends.

Today is a big match again, a contest between two unbeaten teams!! Who will win, and who tastes the bitter truth of defeat? Let us see....

🏏 Cricket World Cup 2023: Match #21: India vs New Zealand 🏏

In the world of cricket, India has always had a strong cricketing reputation!!

However, when it comes to facing New Zealand in ICC events, a feeling of unease engulfs Indian fans. The history of their encounters is laced with Kiwi victories.

Since 1992, they have won just once in nine ICC events. The clash in Dharamsala between these two unbeaten teams isn't a mere group-stage game; it carries the weight of history.

Both India and New Zealand have been in top form, winning all their previous games. The match's outcome might pivot on the performance of fast bowlers, with Dharamsala's high altitude favoring the swing.

For India, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj will play crucial roles. On the New Zealand side, the likes of Matt Henry, Trent Boult, and Lockie Ferguson are poised to excel.

The batsmen have been prolific, with Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Devon Conway ranking high in the run charts.

The absence of Hardik Pandya due to injury leaves a critical gap to fill for India. The pitch's pace and carry promise an exciting contest.

All eyes will be on young sensation Shubman Gill, who is on the cusp of reaching 2000 runs in ODIs.

For these two unbeaten sides, the journey in this competition has mostly been one of symmetrical straight lines, bar the odd murmur.

Players from these two sides occupy three of the top-four positions on the run charts, as well as each of the top-three slots on the wickets list. Both teams have centurions in their top-three: fast bowlers with outstanding PowerPlay records, left-arm spinners to squeeze the middle-overs.

It will be a thrilling match, for sure!!

Tag Credit: Sutapasima

Dravid on Pandya's replacement

"It's nice to have Ishan [Kishan] playing well, being a left hander. But Surya has [Suryakumar Yadav] also come into some form against Australia. He played a couple of fantastic innings. Absolutely fantastic player against spin - left-arm spin, right-arm spin, any kind of spin for that matter. And the role maybe for a middle-overs role. We're pretty clear about the kinds of roles we want to play. If we're looking for someone who looks to be a bit of an enforcer for us in the lower-middle order, and Surya's certainly someone who can do it. If we're looking for someone higher up the order, we might go with Ishan."

Probable XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ishan Kishan/Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami/Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

New Zealand

Probable XI: Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (c&wk), Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson

Head to head stats

New Zealand and India have met each other nine times in World Cups since 1990 ad Black Caps have a 8-1 advantage over Indians. India won just once against the Kiwis, in the 2003 edition.

Between January 2023 and the present, Jadeja's performance in One Day Internationals (ODIs) has seen a notable decline, as he has managed to secure 22 wickets at an average of 28.09. This is a substantial drop from his performance in the years 2019 to 2022 when his average stood at 57.15.

The weather looks superb for today , between 17° and 19° for the whole match .I am doing the pitch report What's the combination going to be?I feel Shami + Surya for shardul and hardik! --Said by Dinesh Kartik

IND vs NZ LIVE: Pitch Report

The pitch at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala is a bowler-friendly one, particularly favouring fast bowlers. The early movement of the ball could make the power plays a critical phase for the bowling team. Choosing to field first and then pursuing the target might be a smart choice.

What to expect: A slightly cloudy day with a 20% chance of showers in the afternoon. The batch of white balls used at the World Cup hasn't swung much, but Dharamsala has been a venue where the fast bowlers have found some joy. In fact, this has been the most bowling friendly venue in this World Cup so far - the only venue where both pace and spin average under 30. Tom Latham revealed that Dew had begun to form as early as 5PM in the days leading up to the game, so batting second might just continue to be an advantage.

Team Watch:

India

Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid have a Pandya-sized void to fill for this crucial fixture. And because he's the one player in the squad without a like-for-like replacement, they'll have to do so with a tweak to the balance that has served them well until this point. If they replace Pandya with either Ishan Kishan or Suryakumar Yadav, they'll have to concede the luxury of a sixth bowling option.

When that call is taken, they will have to decide if Shardul Thakur can give them 10 overs in a five-man attack in his current form. They could bring in Mohammed Shami in for Thakur and run the risk of their batting ending at No.7. Given the form of their batters and the fact that India haven't needed their batting depth in the tournament so far, it is a route they could likely take.

Then there is the Ashwin factor. Given New Zealand are expected to play five left-handers in their XI, this would have been a game Rohit would have considered throwing in his ace off-spinner. However, if Ashwin were to come in for Thakur, India would be left with a 2-3 seam-spin attack, one that might not ideally be suited for Dharamsala.

Tactics & Strategy:

Shubman Gill has an excellent record against New Zealand, his last six innings against them reading 50, 45*, 13, 208, 40* and 112. With a maiden World Cup half-century under his belt, he will look to create a tempo-setting impact at the top of the order.

New Zealand

New Zealand are unlikely to welcome back Kane Williamson just yet. But they do have Tim Southee fit for a while now. With their PowerPlay balance sorted, they aren't likely to welcome back the veteran just yet. Should they be pushed into bringing Southee back, he will bring with him an outstanding record against Rohit [dismissed 5 times] and Kohli [dismissed 6 times] in ODIs

Tactics & Strategy:

Mitchell Santner has been a thorn in India's flesh in each of their World Cup losses to the Black Caps in Nagpur, Manchester and Dubai. He is the leading wicket-taker in middle-overs this World Cup and could be up against Kohli, who he dismissed twice in the series between these sides earlier this year.

Did you know?

- Rohit Sharma has hit 32 sixes in the PowerPlay this year

- Since January 2023, Jadeja has taken 22 ODI wickets at 28.09, significantly down from his average of 57.15 between 2019-22

- New Zealand have an 8-1 advantage over India in ICC events since the start of 1990, their only defeat coming at the 2003 World Cup

Best wishes to India

Win against NZ🤞

What they said:

"It's nice to have Ishan [Kishan] playing well, being a left hander. But Surya has [Suryakumar Yadav] also come into some form against Australia. He played a couple of fantastic innings. Absolutely fantastic player against spin - left-arm spin, right-arm spin, any kind of spin for that matter. And the role maybe for a middle-overs role. We're pretty clear about the kinds of roles we want to play. If we're looking for someone who looks to be a bit of an enforcer for us in the lower-middle order, and Surya's certainly someone who can do it. If we're looking for someone higher up the order, we might go with Ishan."

- Rahul Dravid on who India might have replace the injured Hardik Pandya in the XI

"India's top order has been fantastic this tournament. And again, our bowling attack has done a really good job up front as well. So that's going to be a great contest with bat and ball and obviously vice versa with Indian seamers in our top order. If you look at the match-ups throughout our game against both sides, there's some pretty good matchups there." - Tom Latham sees mini matchups all through this fixture

Which brings us to the points of difference. In Trent Boult, New Zealand's pace attack has a left-arm edge to it, one that recent history would point to being a pain point for India's right-heavy top-order. Few bowling units can control an Indian onslaught in full flow but with Boult and Matt Henry in their ranks, New Zealand would appear to possess the necessary counter-force. And if the hills could conspire and roll in helpful conditions, the Black Caps may just be best placed to exploit them as they did four years ago. Hindsight might cast Sunday's fixture to be just as pivotal, especially for New Zealand who have a bunch of tough fixtures to follow. But at the moment, nothing feels as urgent or drastic as everything did in Manchester.

As for the challenge for New Zealand, it could well come a little later in the innings. For four straight games, India's middle-overs bowling [they have the lowest ER between overs 11-40] has been on point, dragging back opposition even after fast starts. That combined with Rohit Sharma's captaincy and goading opposition to consider risk-filled avenues of run scoring, have made for nuanced viewing. Whether Tom Latham & Co. can take those risks against Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja and sweep India's gameplan off-track could very well determine whether New Zealand can hold on to their streak in this tournament as well as maintain their 20-year stranglehold over India in ICC competitions.