India, which has won the Cricket World Cup twice has stormed into the semi-final with a thumping victory over Bangladesh. New Zealand has also made it to the semifinals by virtue of a better run rate over Pakistan which had the same number of points. The match to be played at the historic Old Trafford ground, however, looks a one-sided affair. New Zealand has just scrapped into the semi-final and their confidence would not be at their best. Yahoo news has outlined three reasons that favor an India win over the black cats in the semi-final.
Reasons
The reasons for the optimism about an Indian victory lie in the seeds of the New Zealand performance in the run-up to the semifinals. Firstly New Zealand has lost its last three matches on the trot. Their performance in these matches has not inspired any confidence in the team. Secondly, New Zealand openers Martin Guptill and Colin Munro after a century stand in the first match have been unable to give a start and failed miserably. Apart from the poor form of the openers, the other batsmen have failed to click and the entire burden of mooring the innings has fallen on the skipper.
Lastly, India is on a high and the Indian pace attack led by Jasprit Bumrah and the spinner Kuldip Yadav and Jadeja have woven a web around their opponents and New Zealand batting is susceptible against class spin bowling.
The Indian spinners have scalped 17 wickets in this tournament and its not good news for the black cats. New Zealand will have to play much above their present potential to beat India which has a formidable batting line up led by Rohit Sharma who has established a world record with five centuries in this world cup, something nobody has ever achieved since the world cup came into being in 1975.
Second semi-final
The second semi-final will be between England and Australia and looks to be more evenly matched, though Australia may have the edge. The last match which saw Australia lose to South Africa has taken some of the sheens of Australia and toppled them from their number one ranking in this world cup. Had they remained at the top they would have played New Zealand and their passage into the final a greater probability.
The TOI has reported that the Aussie skipper Aaron Finch has said the semi-final with England "excites" him.
India -New Zealand semi-final has given India fans a great opportunity to savor another Indian victory. India has by far been the best team in the tournament and won all their matches except in a surprise defeat to England that thwarted Pakistan's bid for a berth in the top four. India also beat Australia in the run-up to the semi-final.
Punters and odds
The punters are betting heavily on an Indian victory and low odds are being offered on a New Zealand win. New Zealand pace attack will have to come good and the batting deserves a good start for the other batsmen to build on, in case they are to test the formidable Indian team with the legendary Mahinder Singh Dhoni behind the stumps. They cannot forget that Virat Kohli, who has yet to hit a century in this tournament would be aiming to make amends for this lacuna.
