After 0.1 over, NZ 0/0 - INDIA’S REVIEW LOST! It looked like a good review, to be honest and the ball did not straighten as much as India hoped. Umpire’s call on impact, and missing the stumps. Is that the turn of good luck Guptill needed?
3.00 pm: Bhuvi starts off with a beauty... a big LBW appeal and India have gone for the review!
2.59 pm: New Zealand’s opening partnerships have been rather shambolic in this World Cup after the 10-wicket win in the first match against Sri Lanka. Can Guptill and Nicholls give a good start? Here we go!
2.58 pm: All eyes on Bhuvi here, to start with.
2.57 pm: Time for the national anthems... New Zealand’s followed by India’s. A roar goes up at Old Trafford after ‘Jaya, jaya, jaya he!’. Goosebumps!
2.50 pm: Both captains wanted to bat first... and in this World Cup so far, only two scores of 250-plus have been chased successfully. Early advantage, New Zealand. Over to the Indian seamers now.
2.48 pm: So let’s talk about the India XI.
First, Bhuvi over Shami: Surprising, for sure. But Kohli did say at the start of the tournament that Bhuvi-Bumrah is his first choice and Shami would play only when the conditions demand it.
Second, no Kul-Cha: Again, a combination that has worked wonders for India but Kuldeep’s form has made his selection untenable, honestly. In that case, Jadeja offers more.
Third, DK over Jadhav: This is a call that could have gone either way... Kohli has opted for a real finisher over a bowling option. Must have his fingers crossed that none of his bowlers get injured or pick up a niggle in that match.
2.44 pm: Some more head-to-head numbers...
Overall, India have won six of the last seven ODIs the two sides have played but a closer inspection of their World Cup meetings makes for prettier reading for New Zealand.
In seven World Cup meetings between these two sides, it is the Black Caps who have the better record. They have won four clashes to India’s three in matches dominated by the chasing side.
Six of the seven encounters have been won by the team batting second, but as we have seen in England this summer, that has not always been the best option.
And despite their seven previous encounters, 2019 will be the first time the two sides will meet in the semi-finals.
2.40 pm: Playing XIs
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
India: KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli(c), Rishabh Pant, MS Dhoni(w), Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah.
2.35 pm: Team news
Just one change for India. Chahal-Jadeja, the spin combination for India. DK, Bhuvi stay. No Shami, Kedar Jadhav. Interesting calls!
Expectedly, Lockie Ferguson back for NZ in place of Tim Southee.
2.33 pm: New Zealand have won the toss and Kane Williamson opts to bat first!
2.31 pm: Head-to-head
| Matches played | India won | New Zealand won | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 106 (N/R: 5, Tied: 1) | 55 | 45 |
| World Cup | 7 | 3 | 4 |
| ICC events (World Cup and Champions Trophy) | 8 | 3 | 5 |
2.26 pm: Kuldeep-Chahal? Jadeja-Chahal? Kuldeep Jadeja? What will be India’s spin combination against New Zealand today? Read Chetan Narula’s take on the spin combination here.
2.21 pm: From 2008, U19 World Cup semis 2019 to the 2019, Men’s World Cup semis. So much has changed for Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson but some things remain the same! Subash Jayaraman writes about the two captains’ journeys.
2.15 pm: India have won three out of their six semi-finals at the World Cup. NZ have been to the semis a whopping seven times! But have won only once... in 2015.
2.13 pm: Statsman to Weatherman! Mr. Mohandas Menon with the update that you have been waiting for...
2.05 pm: It’s been SIXTEEEN long years since India and New Zealand last faced at the World Cup. The group stage match was washed out this time around. And now it’s time to end that long wait... who are you backing in this match?
From 1975 to 2003: A look at India’s games against New Zealand at ICC events — read here.
1.56 pm: There have been just a handful of successful run chases in the World Cup group stage, a trend that suggests winning the toss and batting first will be potentially decisive in the semi-finals.
India and New Zealand will try to put that theory to the test. All eyes will be on the coin flip after a group stage notable for teams failing to successfully chase targets in excess of 260 on all but two occasions. But overcast conditions: does that change equations? Will the Kiwis want to unleash Trent Boult early or India, Jasprit Bumrah? Little more than 30 minutes to go for the toss.
1.51 pm: A first look at the pitch. It’s a fresh pitch. And the conditions are overcast. Will the teams look to buck the trend and bowl first?
1.50 pm: Hello all and welcome to the live coverage of the first semi-final at the 2019 World Cup! 45 matches done... three to go, to determine the World Champions. Will it Virat Kohli’s table-topping India or Kane Williamson’s stuttering Black Caps who will book their berth in the final? We cannot wait to find out how this one unfolds at Old Trafford, Manchester.
India, whose group match against 2015 runners-up New Zealand was washed out, have suffered just one defeat at this World Cup so far, against England, and topped the 10-team group table.
Opener Rohit Sharma became the first batsman to score five centuries in a single World Cup when he made 103 in a seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka on Saturday, while fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has been the spearhead of a well-balanced bowling attack.
India captain Virat Kohli said Monday the pressure of being overwhelming favourites was nothing new for a squad who have long shouldered the hopes of a nation of more than a billion.
And he suggested that might give them an edge over the Black Caps at Old Trafford.
“The Indian team always carries a lot of expectation and pressure whenever we play,” Kohli told reporters.
“We are quite used to that over the years. We are better equipped to react in these situations because we know what these kind of games and our fan base and the expectations bring.”
But if New Zealand, who could recall spinner Ish Sodhi to an attack featuring left-arm quick Trent Boult and fit-again fast bowler Lockie Ferguson – can find a way through India’s top three, they could expose a long tail.
The Black Caps, who only qualified for the semi-finals in fourth place on the basis of net run-rate, have lost their last three games – against Pakistan, holders Australia and England.
They now have the additional incentive of proving to Tendulkar that his prediction of an India appearance in the final was premature.