Mumbai,In a decisive move, India’s captain, Rohit Sharma, won the toss and opted to bat against New Zealand in the inaugural World Cup semi-final at the revered Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday.
The historical context of Wankhede’s pitch dynamics was underscored, with three out of the four previous tournament games favoring the team batting first. The singular exception was Australia’s remarkable triumph over Afghanistan, where Glenn Maxwell’s extraordinary 201 not out secured an improbable three-wicket victory.
Both tournament hosts, unbeaten India, and New Zealand maintained their line-ups unchanged for this crucial encounter.
India’s batting maestro Virat Kohli, on the cusp of creating history, requires just one more century to establish an outright new one-day international record of 50 hundreds. This achievement would elevate him above the revered mark set by the retired former teammate Sachin Tendulkar, who amassed 49 centuries against South Africa.
India’s impeccable record in the pool matches, winning all nine encounters, was noted, with a particular highlight being the hard-fought four-wicket victory against New Zealand in Dharamsala last month.
In contrast, New Zealand navigated a challenging path to the knockout stages, facing defeat in four matches before securing their spot.
Recollections of the Black Caps’ victory over India in a World Cup semi-final in Manchester four years ago, disrupted by rain and spanning two days, added a layer of anticipation to this clash.
India, vying for a remarkable third one-day international World Cup title, seeks to add to their triumphs in 1983 in England and the 2011 victory over Sri Lanka in a Wankhede final.
Meanwhile, New Zealand, having reached the finals in the last two World Cups, is yet to lift the coveted trophy.
The victors of Wednesday’s encounter will go on to face the winner between the five-time champions Australia and South Africa in the second semi-final in Kolkata on Thursday. The final showdown in Ahmedabad awaits on Sunday.
Teams Line-up:
India:Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wkt), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj
New Zealand:Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson (capt), Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (wkt), Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult
Match Officials:
Umpires: Richard Illingworth (ENG) and Rod Tucker (AUS)TV Umpire: Joel Wilson (WIS)
Match Referee:Andy Pycroft (ZIM)
