ICC Men’s ODI World Cup: India and New Zealand look to maintain winning run

The 2016 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, 2019 ICC Men’s ODI World Cup, 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup and the 2021 ICC Test Championships Final.

In the last seven years, New Zealand has been a thorn in India’s side across multi-format ICC events. Now they meet again on Sunday, in the round robin stage of the 2023 ICC Men’s ODI World Cup.

Both teams enter the tie with a four-match winning streak at the event, and have established themselves as early front runners for that coveted title.

However, the winning run for one of the two will be snapped on Sunday as India and New Zealand take each other on at Dharamsala.

While the Kiwis have registered wins over defending champions England, Netherlands, Bangladesh and Afghanistan so far, the men in blue have emerged victorious over Australia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

The two teams have gone head to head nine times at the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup with New Zealand having won five matches, compared to India’s three, one match ending with a no result.

The Indians will also be fresh from the wounds of the 2019 semi-final where they fell short by 18 runs after the match went into a reserve day. That contest also marked the final international match for India’s last World Cup-winning captain MS Dhoni.

A lot has changed in the last four years, but the core of both teams remain the same. Four players from that 2019 semi-final – Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, and Jasprit Bumrah, are expected to walk in to the Indian eleven. An injured Hardik Pandya will miss out.

For New Zealand, skipper Kane Williamson will be missing in action with a thumb injury, but the likes of Tom Latham, Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson, and Mitchell Santner will have happy memories of the 2019 semi-final.

Conditions and Pitch Report

The conditions in Dharamsala are the closest to the home New Zealand can get in India. The stadium is located at a higher altitude and has traditionally helped the pacers a bit more than any other pitch in India. Expect a good amount of pace and bounce in the wicket, making the lift a bit difficult for batters. However, scoring should be relatively easy if the batters manage to get their eye in.

The stadium has hosted three matches so far in this World Cup, with Netherlands pulling off an unlikely win against South Africa in a rain-marred contest. If England managed to rake up a massive 364 in the first innings before bowling out Bangladesh for just 227 at the venue, the latter also managed to secure a six-wicket victory at the same ground after restricting Afghanistan to just 156.

Key Players

India: With Pandya ruled out of the match, the onus will be on the other Indian pacers to step up in conditions suitable to them at Dharamsala. Bumrah, who has been phenomenal this World Cup, will once again be the trump card for the men in blue.

The team would also hope for a better show from Mohammed Siraj, who has leaked more runs than he would have liked. It is uncertain if India will bring in Mohammed Shami for the contest, with Shardul Thakur proving ineffective so far, as Pandya is out of the equation.

New Zealand: Boult, in the powerplay, will hold all the aces for New Zealand. The Indian top order has been suspect to left-arm pacers for long and it continues to be the same. Stand-in skipper Latham would hope his pace spearhead rips through the in-form Indian top order to have it easy in the match.