ICC World Cup 2019: 1st Semifinal, India vs New Zealand – Toss Report

The 2015 runners-up New Zealand will go up against India in the first semifinal of the ICC World Cup 2019 on July 9 (Tuesday) at the Old Trafford in Manchester. An exciting game is on the cards if the raingods stay away from Manchester, unlike the group match which was a complete washout.

Read More : ICC World Cup 2019: 1st Semifinal, India vs New Zealand – Toss Report

India finished the group stage with 15 points to top the points table to set up a clash with New Zealand who progressed to the top-four with a better net run-rate over Pakistan. India will look o rout The Kiwis and march onto the finals on July 14. Rohit Sharma has been in brilliant form scoring five centuries in the tournament to be the highest run-scorer of the competition so far. KL Rahul has also found his touch back at the right time with scores of 77 and 111 in the last two games along with Virat Kohli. The bowlers have supported well and will make the job of the management tough with difficult choices to make.

Also read: ICC World Cup 2019: Rohit Sharma Wants To Win The Trophy For MS Dhoni, Says His Childhood Coach

New Zealand have had a mixed bag so far in the tournament. They made a superb start in the competition winning the first five games while the sixth against India was a washout. But their fortunes changed as they lost the next three games to gown down the radar and qualify as the fourth team. The openers including last World Cup’s top run-scorer Martin Guptill has failed to get going putting too much pressure on Kane Williamson and the middle order. The Kiwis will hope for a strong performance led by their skipper Williamson against India to give themselves another chance of winning the World Cup.

Date and Venue: India vs New Zealand, July 9 (Tuesday) at 3:00 PM IST, at the Old Trafford in Manchester

Toss Report

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson has won the toss and elected to bowl first against India at the Old Trafford in Manchester.

Here is what the captains said,

Virat Kohli

We would’ve batted first. Fresh wicket, nice and hard, and not moist. A bit of rain around as well, the ball will get wet as the game goes on. It could remain decent throughout the game. It’s going to remain similar throughout the course of the game – we have done well in Manchester. We have had two good games in Manchester, and it’s about focussing on the basics. We need to remember why we are in the semis. Chahal comes back in for Kuldeep Yadav.

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Kane Williamson

We’re going to have a bat. It looks like a good surface. We have played a number of games here. A toss-up with the overheads, but it’ll be around all day, so we need to get the job first up. We are used to the routine, but we have a great opportunity to put up a good performance against a side like India. Ferguson comes in for Southee.

Playing XI

India: Lokesh Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli(c), Rishabh Pant, MS Dhoni(w), Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah

New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Henry Nicholls, Kane Williamson(c), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham(w), James Neesham, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Trent Boult