Sports / World Cup Semis, India vs New Zealand: India Probable Playing XI, New Zealand Probable Playing XI

NDTV : Jul 09, 2019, 10:37 AM
India and New Zealand will face off in the first semi-final of the World Cup 2019 at Old Trafford in Manchester on Tuesday. The two teams didn't play each other in the league stage of the 10-team round-robin tournament as the match in Nottingham was abandoned without toss due to rain. Under the captaincy of Virat Kohli, India finished the league stage on the top of the points table with seven wins in nine matches. The Kane Williamson-led New Zealand, on the other hand, finished fourth to seal a semi-final berth with a better net run rate than equally placed Pakistan.

The Old Trafford, which saw India beat Pakistan and West Indies in league stage, might witness some rain in the first semi-final. Even though the sky is expected to be cloudy throughout the day, a no result is unlikely on the cards.

In case of a wash out, the match will resume on the reserve day on Wednesday.

For the crucial clash, India might include Yuzvendra Chahal in the playing eleven after resting him for their last league stage match against Sri Lanka on Saturday.

Chahal might replace all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who claimed a single wicket in Sri Lanka match, to join the fellow wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav. 

Kuldeep hasn't been much impressive for India as he claimed six wickets in seven matches so far. However, the Indian captain might give the left-armer another chance ahead of the knockout stage.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who replaced Mohammed Shami in the last match, is also expected to play as India's formula of five bowlers worked well for them at Headingley. 

Dinesh Karthik, who was seen engaged in a lengthy net session, is expected to give the batting some depth in the lower middle-order. 

For New Zealand, opener Henry Nicholls has failed to impress much with the willow. After being replaced with Colin Munro, he managed scored of zero and eight in his last two matches.

Munro, who lost his wicket for 12, zero and nine before being dropped, is expected to make a comeback.

Probable XI:

India: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (capt.), Rishabh Pant, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah.

New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson (capt.), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham (wk), James Neesham, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult.

Squads:

India: KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (capt.), Rishabh Pant, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav, Mayank Agarwal.

New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Henry Nicholls, Kane Williamson (capt.), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham (wk), James Neesham, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Matt Henry, Trent Boult, Tom Blundell, Lockie Ferguson, Colin Munro, Ish Sodhi.

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