India vs New Zealand Probable XIs, World Cup Semi-final: Men in Blue to remain unchanged; weather and pitch report

India face New Zealand in the first semi-final of the 2023 Cricket World Cup at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday with the match starting at 2 PM IST. Men in Blue have been in great form, winning nine out of nine matches so far in the tournament, and are seen as the clear favourites for the semi-final. New Zealand, however, have history in their favour.

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The Kiwis were responsible for India’s elimination from the 2019 World Cup after they defeated India by 18 runs in the semi-final. Also, they have won all three matches against India in knockout matches of ICC events. India have one more statistic to worry about as well. They have not won an ICC event since 2013 and the biggest reason behind their failure has been them losing in eight knockout matches of ICC events since 2013.

But India have form on their side and captain Rohit Sharma has credited the team environment for great results on the pitch.

“Our conscious effort has been on this that the team’s environment does not change based on the results. We have to create the environment that is needed for the team, and that is mandatory,” Rohit said during his pre-match conference. “This cannot be done by one or two boys. It is important for all the boys to come together, including the support staff.”

IND vs NZ preview: A chance for Rohit’s men to wipe away unhappy memories

“This is the environment where we like to be very relaxed. All the boys like this a lot. Because you know, when you come on the ground, there will be pressure, pressure of performance, pressure of winning the match. That cannot be changed,” he said.

IND vs NZ: Rohit’s powerplay onslaught and other factors that could decide semi-final 

Before the game starts, here’s a look at predicted XIs for the India vs New Zealand semi-final:

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

New Zealand: Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson (c), Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, Tom Latham (wk), Mitchell Santner, Lockie Ferguson, Tim Southee, Trent Boult

Mumbai weather forecast

Rain is not expected to play a part on Wednesday in Mumbai. As per Accuweather, the chance of rain is 0%. The temperature is expected to be around 32 degrees Celsius in the day and drop to 16 by night. Cloud cover could be as much as 86% in the daytime and could favour the pacers.

Wankhede stadium pitch report

The red soil pitches in Mumbai has favoured bounce and carry which makes it a good place for pacers but the flat nature of the tracks also makes it a batting paradise. Wankhede Stadium is known for big scores but batting second could be tricky as lights and sea breeze favours the bowlers.

India vs New Zealand Squads

India: 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: Kane Williamson (c), Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitch Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Will Young