And we are down to four teams. The semi-finals of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 are set to take off with what can prove to be yet another classic for the ages. It is the undefeated hosts, India, going up against their previous 2019 WC semi-final rivals, New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
And the coin goes up for one last time for one of these teams in the middle of Wankhede. The result? India won the toss and chose to bat first.
FOLLOW LIVE HERE: IND vs NZ Live Score, ICC World Cup 2023 Semi-final
The Men in Blue were a dominant force in the marquee tournament but despite their vast pool of players being developed through domestic tournaments, the World Cup trophy has eluded the side since 2011. Now the pressure is on the Indian side to replicate their heroics in 2011 where they won the trophy when India were the joint-hosts of the tournament.
Consistency has been the mantra for the New Zealand side. They have made the knockouts for quite some time now. They were finalists for the past two editions for the World Cup as well where they lost out to Australia in 2015 and England in 2019. Now, the Kiwis look to make it a hat-trick but they face the task of going up against the hosts India at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Follow all the action from the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 including the World Cup schedule, World Cup 2023 results, and ICC Cricket World Cup points table. Players are vying to top the World Cup 2023 Most Runs and World Cup 2023 Most Wickets charts.
The Kiwis already lost the league stage match to the Indian team but will be eyeing to turn their fortunes around as they aim to finally get their hands on the trophy that has eluded them for so long and rid themselves of the tag of ‘chokers.’
On the flipside, with familiar foes, New Zealand waiting in the semifinal, India will have a chance of taking revenge for the 2019 semifinal defeat and end their semifinal jinx to march into the World Cup final.
Captain’s Comments:
Rohit Sharma (IND): We are gonna bat first. Looks like a good pitch. Looks like on the slower side. Whatever we do, we need to do well. I think it was back in 2019 when we played the semis. NZ is one of the most consistent sides. Very important day. Constantly, talking about how important it is about turning up on that day. Same team.
Kane Williamson (NZ):We would have batted first. Hopefully, some dew later. Amazing occasion. Four years ago, similar situation but a different location. They have been playing some good cricket. Always a building phase between the tournaments. Need to assess what is in front of you when the tournament starts. We are going with the same team from the previous match.
Playing XIs:
India
Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj
New Zealand
Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson(c), Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, Tom Latham(w), Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult
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