Match 21 of 48 in the 2023 Cricket World Cup will be a clash of the titans as the host nation India will take on New Zealand at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala on Sunday.
After the first four matches in this competition, these are the only two sides that are still unbeaten, and the winner of this one will take the outright lead in the standings as we approach the halfway mark of the tournament.
Match preview
© Reuters
India got their 2023 CWC campaign started against Australia, and that was probably the only match that they were really troubled in so far after the Aussies knocked over their top three batsmen for just two runs.
However, the combination of Virat Kohli and KL Rahul proved to be too good for the Baggy Greens bowling attack as the pair guided their side to an opening match win with a sensational 165-run partnership.
Facing Afghanistan, it was Rohit Sharma who starred for the Men in Blue, bouncing back from his dismissal for a duck against the Australians to achieve his seventh ODI World Cup century, and he is also the current second-highest run scorer in the competition with 265, followed closely by Kohli on 259.
India's bowling unit has also been solid, with Jasprit Bumrah securing 10 wickets in four innings at an impressive average of 13.40, while Mohammed Siraj is expected to pose a significant challenge for opposing batsmen on this particular surface.
In the 116 ODI encounters between these sides, India have emerged victorious 58 times, the Blackcaps secured 50 wins, one match had no result, and seven matches ended in a draw.
© Reuters
Meanwhile, after coming into the World Cup under the radar, New Zealand have been excellent so far, winning each of their four matches and are now leading the way in the tournament with a net run rate of +1.923.
They made their intentions clear early in the competition when they blew away England by nine wickets in match one and never looked likely to lose at any point in their games against the Dutch side or the Tigers.
In their last match against Afghanistan, the Blackcaps faced minor batting struggles, losing four wickets with only 110 runs on the scoreboard, but Tom Latham and Glenn Phillips orchestrated a remarkable turnaround, averting a potential upset and securing a commanding victory by a substantial margin of 149 runs.
However, with England looking very off-colour in this tournament, this will undoubtedly be New Zealand's most difficult challenge to date, and it will be interesting to see if they can cope with the spin-bowling quality India possesses.
While India may hold the upper hand in the overall head-to-head record, in World Cup history, it is New Zealand who hold the edge over India with 5 victories to India's 3 in their nine encounters, including one abandoned match in the 2019 World Cup.
Team News
India welcomed back Shubman Gill after their star batsman was forced to miss the first two games with dengue fever, and it did not take him long to find form, notching a half-century in the last match against Bangladesh.
Gill will almost certainly keep his spot here and will open the batting with captain Sharma, followed by Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, and the dependable KL Rahul, who has given the Indian side tremendous stability in the middle order.
Ravichandran Ashwin was rested against the Tigers last week and could be returned to the squad in this match, potentially for Hardik Pandya, who twisted his ankle in the last match.
As for the Kiwis, they will be missing a vital player in their captain, Kane Williamson, who fractured his thumb in their last match against Bangladesh.
Will Young will be the most likely replacement for the injured skipper and should slot into the opening pair with Devon Conway, while Rachin Ravindra should drop to number three ahead of Daryl Mitchell.
India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav
New Zealand squad: Kane Williamson (c), Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitch Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Will Young
Series so far
India
Match One: India won by 6 wickets
Australia - 199 (49.3)
India - 201/4 (41.2)
Match Two: India won by 8 wickets
Afghanistan - 272/8 (50)
India - 273/2 (35)
Match Three: India won by 7 wickets
Pakistan - 191 (42.5)
India - 192/3 (30.3)
Match Four: India won by 7 wickets
Bangladesh - 256/8 (50)
India - 261/3 (41.3)
New Zealand
Match One: New Zealand won by 9 wickets
England - 282/9 (50)
New Zealand - 283/1 (36.2)
Match Two: New Zealand won by 99 runs
New Zealand - 322/7 (50)
Netherlands - 223 (46.3)
Match Three: New Zealand won by 8 wickets
Bangladesh - 245/9 (50)
New Zealand - 248/2 (42.5)
Match Four: New Zealand won by 149 runs
New Zealand - 288/6 (50)
Afghanistan - 139 (34.4)
We say: India to win
Both these sides have been very good in this competition and will be missing at least one big player apiece in this match. For India, that may not be the worst thing since it will allow them to bring in a third spinner, which has worked in their favour already in the tournament. Despite missing their skipper, the Blackcaps are expected to put up a good fight here, but we are backing the Men in Blue to claim the points.
Devesh Jaganath
