ICC World Cup 2019: 1st Semi-Final, India vs New Zealand: Dream11 Fantasy Cricket Tips – Playing XI, Pitch Report & Injury Update

It is that stage of the World Cup where one bad day at the office can put a full stop to all the fortunes. This is that stage where champions are made and heartbreaks get inevitable. It is the knockouts stage of the World Cup 2019 as India locks horns with New Zealand in the first semi-final. Both these teams have worked extremely hard to get here and were brilliant all through the nine league games that they played.

India’s campaign only witnessed a loss to England while New Zealand have been a bit off the mark in the last few games. After five consecutive wins, the Kiwis suffered a hat-trick of losses in their last three matches. While it was definitely disappointing, they will look to bounce back in this all-important encounter. However, Virat Kohli and his boys will look to continue with the dominance and bag yet another win. Since these two teams haven’t played each other earlier, the contest gets that much more interesting.

Match Details

The 1st Semi-Final of the ICC World Cup 2019 will be played between India and New Zealand at the Old Trafford in Manchester.

The match starts at 10:30 AM local time (09:30 AM GMT) (3:00 PM IST).

The game will be live on Star Sports. Live streaming available on Hotstar.

Weather Report

It is predicted to be a cloudy day in Manchester on Tuesday. Rain is expected early in the day but that shouldn’t cause any issues to the proceedings except a delayed start or minor interruption. The conditions will be overcast throughout and humidity will be on the high side. Thus, there is a possibility that we might get to witness a lot of lateral movement with the ball.

Pitch Report

A league game between Australia and South Africa was played at this venue just a few days ago. The pitch is likely to remain the same with something on offer for everyone. Batsmen should enjoy batting on this pitch, given that they see through the early phase of the innings. The ball could do a lot of talking early in the game and it is expected to swing around quite a bit due to the conditions.

Average first innings score: 323 (in CWC19)

Record of the chasing teams: Won – 0; Lost – 5 (in CWC19)

Probable Playing XIs

India

Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (C), Rishabh Pant, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Bench – Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Agarwal, Kedar Jadhav, Kuldeep Yadav.

New Zealand

Colin Munro, Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson (C), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham (wk), Colin de Grandhomme, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Trent Boult.

Bench – Henry Nicholls, Tom Blundell, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee.

Team News

Lockie Ferguson missed the previous game against England due to a hamstring strain. But New Zealand head coach Gary Stead backs him to return for this game.

Power Picks

Virat Kohli vs NZ in ODIs:

Innings: 22

Runs: 1302

Average: 68.52

100s: 5

50s: 7

Captain and Vice-Captain Selection:

Captain Options: Rohit Sharma, Kane Williamson, Virat Kohli

Vice-Captain Options: KL Rahul, Ross Taylor, Hardik Pandya

Suggested Playing XI No.1 for Head to Head/Small Leagues:

Wicket-keeper – Tom Latham, Rishabh Pant

Batsmen – Kane Williamson (vc), Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli

All-Rounders – James Neesham, Ravindra Jadeja, Hardik Pandya

Bowlers – Matt Henry, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah

Suggested Playing XI No.2 for Grand/Mega Leagues:

Wicket-keeper – Rishabh Pant

Batsmen – Ross Taylor (vc), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (c), KL Rahul

All-Rounders – Mitchell Santner, James Neesham, Hardik Pandya

Bowlers – Lockie Ferguson, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah

Expert Advice:

Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson together take up 32 credits. If you want to have all three of them, you must pick players with 8 and 8.5 credits. Thus, it wouldn’t be a bad option to leave one of them out but will be an extremely risky call.

Probable Winners:

India are expected to win the match.

*Disclaimer: This team is based on the understanding, analysis, and instinct of the author. While selecting your team, consider the points mentioned and make your own decision.