World Cup 2023, Semi Final 1 | India Predicted XI vs New Zealand

image-loy9y9bpIndia will be playing New Zealand in the first Semi-final of the World Cup 2023 (Source: AP Photos)

The cricketing week has got just better and more exciting with the knockouts locked in the queue. India and New Zealand will be squaring off against one another in the first semi final of the 2023 World Cup at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. The high-voltage clash is going to commence at 2:00 PM IST.

Before we take you through the Predicted XI of India, let us quickly have a tourney recap of both these nations.

New Zealand

The Black Caps kicked off the mega-event with a spellbinding triumph against the defending champions i.e. England. Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra ironed over the Three Lions to chase down a target of 283 runs with nine wickets in hand. They continued their winning momentum for three more matches before tasting their first defeat against India in Dharamsala.

The loss against India was just the start of a downfall for the Kiwis. It was a part of four consecutive losses that involved the hosts, South Africa, Australia, and Pakistan. However, a huge victory against Sri Lanka helped them finish in the top four.

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India

The Indian side have been utterly dominant in the World Cup 2023. They have played nine matches and have won all of them, topping the charts in the league table with 18 points from nine matches.

In their first match, the Rohit Sharma-led unit faced difficulty in chasing 200 runs as the Aussies removed the top order early. However, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul’s 165-run stand helped the team rescue and have the final laugh. It was followed by comprehensive wins against Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

The only side that seemed to give the Indians a competition was New Zealand. It was a clash of two table toppers but the Men in Blue emerged on the top in the end. The remaining four assignments saw the Rahul Dravid-coached set-up gain dominating victories against England, Sri Lanka, South Africa and Netherlands.

Now, let us deep dive into India's predicted XI against New Zealand for the first Semi Final in Wankhede.


Openers: Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill

Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill did not start off at the initial phase of the World Cup as the latter was diagnosed with dengue. However, Gill made his return to the XI in the Pakistan game. With every game, he seems to be getting back to the groove. He has scored three fifties from seven innings and missed out on his maiden World Cup century against Sri Lanka by just eight runs. 

Sharma has been prolific with the rollicking starts at the top of the order. He has smashed 503 runs from nine innings so far and looked flawless in his knocks. He scored a ton against Afghanistan. Rohit also notched 86, 87 and 61 against Pakistan, England, and Netherlands respectively. The best thing about the Mumbaikar is that he has set the tone for a chase or to set a total.


Middle Order: Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav

Virat Kohli has been in one of his best forms during the coveted world event. He is the leading run-getter of the competition with 594 runs from nine innings. The King has been in beast mode and played some charismatic innings. Kohli has smashed two centuries and five half-centuries in the marquee event so far. He brought up his 49th ODI ton in the Eden Gardens, Kolkata against South Africa, equalising the tally with the great Sachin Tendulkar. 

Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul struck their maiden ton of the World Cup 2023 in their recent outing against Netherlands. The former has gathered 287 runs from his last three innings and seems to be peaking at the right time. He has a batting average of 143.50 from his last three innings. The good form of the top order did not ask much from the lower-middle order batters that includes Rahul and Surya. However, the wicketkeeper-batter has struck a match-winning 97* against the Kangaroos and whopped a ton against Netherlands in their last match.

Suryakumar find his way in the playing XI after Hardik Pandya injured himself and bowed out of the tournament. The 360 degree player's role has been to finish the games and take the charge mostly in the later half of second powerplay and the third powerplay.


All-rounder: Ravindra Jadeja 

All-rounders are always an indispensable component of a team and so is Jadeja for the spirits in Blue. The Gujarat-based cricketer has been a gun in the field.  He has snapped 16 wickets from nine games so far that includes a three-fer against Australia and a fifer that rattled South Africa. The batters did so well that Jadeja had to bat for just four innings in the global championship event and the southpaw averages 37.0 with the willow. 


Bowlers: Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Siraj

After the injury of Hardik Pandya, India have gone with a set bowling plan. They have included three genuine pacers- Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. The primary spinner for the community has been Kuldeep Yadav who bagged 14 wickets from nine innings. The left-arm wrist spinner has gone wicketless in just one of the last nine games when their pacers folded Sri Lanka for 55. 

Here's an illustration of the Indian pacers and how well they have fared in World Cup 2023:

Attributes
Jasprit Bumrah
Mohammed Siraj
Mohammed Shami
Innings
995
Wickets171216
Economy3.655.204.78
>= 3 wickets
two timesone timethree times


India Predicted XI against New Zealand

Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.