It's quite the visual treat to see Dharamsala shielded by the Dhauladhar mountain range from above. The landscape of this tranquil vacation spot, with its exquisitely angular hills dotted with quiet valleys, speaks for itself. Furthermore, it is the story of this World Cup as seen from the perspective of New Zealand and India, with the fate of those in their shadow fluctuating greatly.
With the exception of the occasional grumble, these two undefeated teams' trip through the competition has largely consisted of symmetrical straight lines. Each of the top three spots on the wickets list and three of the top four spots on the run charts are occupied by players from these two teams. In addition to left-arm spinners who can tighten up the middle overs, both sides include three centurions in their top three, as well as quick bowlers with exceptional PowerPlay records and one injured vital player.
This leads us to the areas where we differ. Trent Boult gives New Zealand's pace attack a left-arm edge that, based on past performance, should cause India's right-heavy top-order some difficulty. Few bowling teams are able to contain an Indian attack in full swing, but New Zealand seems to have the right counter-force in their ranks, especially with Boult and Matt Henry. And the Black Caps might be in the best position to take advantage of the hills as they did four years ago if they banded together and rolled under favorable circumstances. In retrospect, Sunday's match may prove to be equally important, particularly for New Zealand, who have a string of difficult games ahead of them. However, nothing seems really pressing right now.
Regarding New Zealand's challenge, it might occur a bit later in the innings. Even after quick starts, India's middle-overs bowling [they have the lowest ER between overs 11–40] has been excellent for four games in a row, holding back the opposition. This, along with Rohit Sharma's leadership, which has encouraged opponents to contemplate riskier ways to score runs, has made for interesting viewing. It may come down to whether Tom Latham and company can take those chances against Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja and throw India's strategy off, which might decide whether or not New Zealand can continue their winning run in this tournament and their 20-year advantage over India in ICC competitions.
Ahead of time: a somewhat overcast day with a 20% possibility of afternoon showers. The World Cup's supply of white balls hasn't changed much, but fast bowlers have enjoyed themselves in Dharamsala. Since both pace and spin average less than 30, this has really been the most bowler-friendly World Cup site thus far. In the days preceding the match, Tom Latham disclosed that Dew had started to develop as early as 5 PM, therefore it's possible that batting second will still be advantageous.
India
For this important match, Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid have a Pandya-sized vacuum to fill. They will also need to adjust the balance that has worked successfully for them up to this point because he is the only member of the team without a like-for-like substitute. They will have to give up the convenience of having a sixth bowling option if they choose to replace Pandya with Ishan Kishan or Suryakumar Yadav).
They will have to determine whether Shardul Thakur can provide them with 10 overs in a five-man assault in his current shape when that call is made. They could risk having their batting end at No. 7 if they put in Mohammed Shami in place of Thakur.
India may choose to go down this path given the performance of their hitters and the fact that they haven't used their batting depth in the tournament thus far.
Next, there's the Ashwin component. This was a match Rohit would have thought about using his best off-spinner, given that New Zealand is predicted to field five left-handers in their XI. But if Ashwin replaced Thakur, India would be left with a seam-spin attack that might not be the best fit for Dharamsala—roughly 2-3 combinations.
Strategies and Tactics:
With scores of 50, 45*, 13, 208, 40*, and 112. in his previous six innings against New Zealand, Shubman Gill has a stellar record against the Kiwis. Having achieved his first World Cup half-century, he will want to establish a pace-setting influence at the head of the order.
New Zealand
It seems unlikely that Kane Williamson will return to New Zealand just yet. However, Tim Southee has been fit for a time now. They're probably not going to welcome the veteran back just yet, now that they have their PowerPlay balance straightened. If they are forced to bring Southee back, he will bring an incredible ODI record against both Rohit [five dismissals] and Kohli [six dismissals].
Strategies and Tactics:
India has lost against the Black Caps in Nagpur, Manchester, and Dubai during the World Cup, and Mitchell Santner has been a constant source of frustration for them. As the World Cup's top wicket-taker in the middle overs, he may face off against Kohli, whom he removed twice in their earlier-year series.
Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Trent Boult, and Lockie Ferguson are the likely starting lineup.
Were you aware?
This year, Rohit Sharma has smashed 32 sixes in the PowerPlay.
- Since January 2023, Jadeja has averaged 28.09 for 22 ODI wickets, a considerable decrease from his 2019–22 average of 57.15.
Since 1990, New Zealand has dominated India in ICC competitions, winning 8-1; their lone loss occurred during the 2003 World Cup.
Their statement:
As a left-hander, it's good to see Ishan [Kishan] performing well. However, against Australia, Surya [Suryakumar Yadav] has also emerged in some capacity. He had a couple of really good innings. Exceptionally good against spin of any form, whether it is left- or right-arm-directed. And that might be a middle-overs role. Regarding the roles we wish to play, we are fairly clear about them. Surya can definitely fill that role if we're looking for someone who can act as a bit of an enforcer for us in the lower-middle order. We might choose Ishan if we're searching for someone more senior."
Rahul Dravid on possible replacements for injured Hardik Pandya in India's starting lineup
"India's starting lineup has performed admirably in this competition. Additionally, our bowling assault has performed admirably up front as well. With Indian seamers in our top order, it should be a thrilling match between bat and ball, and certainly vice versa. There are some really strong matches there if you look at the pairings throughout our game versus both sides." Throughout this match, Tom Latham observes mini matchups.
Posts
