ICC CWC 2019 1st Semi Final, India is a Favourite at Old Trafford
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It’s been 41 days and 45 matches. The 2019 World Cup is now heading towards its climax. Chaff has been removed from the grain, the pitch is being readied after rolling and watering, hanging above the pitch, the camera is ready. The suspense is finally over and top-ranked India will face fourth-ranked New Zealand. 9 July 2019 will be the 1st semi final with the teams playing their 7th and 8th game, respectively. The second semi-final will be between Australia and England, traditional rivals.
The Old Trafford pitch is batsman friendly. A score excess of 300 has been made consistently here. This will make India cozy as they have a strong batting line up. The English weather is unpredictable, but the predictions say there might be speckled rain and clouds.
Will History Repeat Itself?
The Men in Blue and the Black Caps would be clashing for the first time in the ongoing World Cup. Their league match was washed out due to the rain. But the intriguing fact is that there are a large number of similarities with the semi-final team of U-19 World Cup 2008. Virat Kohli, 19 years and Kane Williamson, 17 years met as the captains. Trent Boult, Tim Southee, and Ravindra Jadeja were the team members. The match was won by India, thanks to Virat Kohli’s all-round show. It sure would be exciting to see the history repeating itself again.
So Much Talent to Pick from!
The blue whale has had a fantastic journey and is just two step away from taking its third World Cup victory. This is one of the most capable and favorite team. As Bumrah says, “It’s a good headache to have when everyone’s performing and everyone’s in good nick and that’s something you love to have going into a crucial game like this.” He believes that the captain has a treasure of excellence to choose from.
Their thumping victory over Sri Lanka in the last league match has lifted the spirits higher. They have a perfect combination of the young and experienced crop of players. The current team has depth in batting line up, sharp and accurate bowling attack and fabulous diving skill to the field.
Some Strengths and Some Weaknesses
The Indian team has conditioned well and has lost just one match. Its campaign can be termed just sufficient as there are some gaps which remain to be filled. These remain crucial to taking the game a notch up higher. Virat’s team has prominent batters but some frailties are visible which may not scuttle but could spell worry. The team seems dependent on Rohit and Kohli. The latter is also expected to score a century, which he has been missing by small margins. Rahul and Rohit have been daunting as openers.
No 4 spot has continued to be woeful despite seeing some good knocks from Pant, Hardik, and Dhoni, but it lacks consistency. India’s longtime lifeguard, MS Dhoni is still off the mark. He has been batting very slowly and at the wrong time. But he has wisdom and experience to guide the team.
Bowlers have been superb. Jasprit has been choking the rivals at the crucial time with his perfect Yorkers. He has been excellently complemented by the pacer duo, Bhuvneshwar, and Shami. Yazuvendra, Kuldeep and Hardik have not been that explicit but their support cannot be ignored.
A Journey with Ups and Downs
New Zealand started its journey in style, with five straight wins. But the three continuous defeats have given jitters to the Black Caps. They have been firing on their batting but some infirmities have shown them failing in the last three matches. Kane Williamson is leading from the front. He has made not just a good batsman but also a clever and responsible skipper.
All-rounders Colin and Neesham have been impressive. Pacer Lockie Ferguson is likely to come back after recovering. He has been third at the top of the wicket table and can be a serious threat. But Williamson’s batsmen need to share the responsibility and face the fine Indian bowling attack.
Conclusion
The Black Caps have reached the semis seven times but passed the hurdle to the finals only once, in 2015. At that time they were crushed by five-time champion Australia. They would like to better their record as they face team India for the first time in this tournament. On the other hand, Indians have two World Cup titles and many other ICC Trophies to show their superior end. There’s no doubt that spectators are going to have a treat to watch Rohit, Kohli and Williamson batting and Bumrah, Shami and Rockie troubling the batsmen. Good Luck to both who deserved to be there.
