ICC World Cup 2019: 1st Semi-final, India vs New Zealand — Weather forecast | Hourly temperature and chances of rain

With an eye on the final of the World Cup 2019, India and New Zealand will lock horns in a blockbuster first semifinal of the competition in Manchester on Tuesday. India finished the group stage as the top-ranked side with 15 points and is thus taking on fourth-placed New Zealand. The winner of the clash will take on the winner of the second semi-final between England and Australia at the iconic Lord’s on July 14.

Going by current form, India will be the firm favourites to win the clash. Barring the rare defeat against England, they have won all of their games so far and looked highly impressive. There have been some issues with the middle-order and the finishing but the likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul are in such a good form that India have not faced much of a problem so far. The bowling has looked sharp too with the ever-reliable Jasprit Bumrah leading the attack.

As far as New Zealand are concerned, they come in the semifinal after losing three games in a row. In fact, they should consider themselves lucky to be in the last four as Pakistan also had the same number of points. It was the net run-rate that saved them from exiting the tournament. But at the same time, taking the Kiwis lightly could be fatal for India. New Zealand have already beaten India in the warm-up game and could replicate that performance again if the Men in Blue do not come up with another solid display.

How’s the weather expected to be?

Just when it looked like the World Cup would not be hampered by the rain anymore, the weather forecast for the huge clash in Manchester is not at all promising. The chances of rainfall at the start of the game will be more than 40 percent and will soon be around 50%. According to AccuWeather, there is a prediction of rain throughout the day with the chances ranging in the 30s and 40s. The cloud cover will be around 90 percent which further adds to the worry while the humidity will be in the 70s.

In case play doesn’t get underway today, there is a reserve day tomorrow. If the reserve day is also washed out, India will go through.