India will play New Zealand in the first semifinal of the 2023 World Cup at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday, 15 November.
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It will be the second consecutive time that India and New Zealand meet in the semifinal of the World Cup, after the Kiwis beat the Men in Blue in Manchester in 2019. This is also a meeting of two of the most consistent sides in the tournament. New Zealand have made the final four for the fifth consecutive time, while India have done it for the fourth successive time (and the fifth time in the last six tournaments).
Some of the world's best talent will be on show during the game, and much of the build-up has focused on India's batting against New Zealand's bowling. Here, The Sporting News analyses which of the Kiwis' two frontline pacers could hurt India.
Trent Boult or Tim Southee: Which NZ pacer will trouble Indian batsmen the most?
New Zealand's first-choice bowling attack for this World Cup had consisted of Trent Boult, Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson. This was a well-rounded attack thanks to each one having complementary strengths of swing, seam and pace respectively.
However, the Kiwis had to make do without Ferguson for a couple of games due to injury, before Henry was ruled out of the tournament after tearing his hamstring against South Africa. Kyle Jamieson was named as his squad replacement, but in all likelihood the Kiwis will play Boult and Ferguson along with Tim Southee against India.
MORE: What is Rohit Sharma's record at Wankhede?
In the 2019 World Cup semifinal, the now-injured Henry took the three wickets of KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma and Dinesh Karthik in the first Powerplay, while Boult removed the dangerous Virat Kohli for just one. Boult had a say later in the innings as well, putting paid to Ravindra Jadeja's rescue effort by dismissing the left-hander for 77 in the 48th over with a superb slower ball.
While he has not been at his best during this World Cup, Boult has still picked up 13 wickets in the tournament so far. However, if the previous match against India at Dharamsala is anything to go by, the Indian batters may have figured out how to negotiate him a bit better.
MORE: What is Virat Kohli's record against New Zealand?
If that is indeed the case, Tim Southee could be New Zealand's ace in the pack. While he is similar to Boult in terms of relying on early swing movement, he also has the experience and ability to extract movement off the seam, almost mimicking Henry's primary skill. This could be a valuable weapon against India opener Shubman Gill, whose flamboyant style leaves him open to dismissals against a seaming ball.
It will be interesting to see how things pan out in case New Zealand bowl second. Batting under lights at the Wankhede Stadium has been tricky, and Boult becomes even more difficult to play when the floodlights make the direction of the seam difficult to pick. If he and Southee get a couple of early wickets, we could be in for a repeat of 2019.
Who will win the 2023 World Cup?
India and Australia are now among the favourites for the 2023 World Cup title. The odds were as follows ahead of this match, and you can click here to make your bet (selected regions).
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| India | 1.95 |
| Australia | 4.50 |
| South Africa | 5.50 |
| New Zealand | 7.50 |
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