At Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday, the Rohit Sharma-led Team India will square off against Kane Williamson’s New Zealand in the opening semi-final of the ODI World Cup 2023.
The ‘Men in Blue’ have fallen short against the Kiwis in their last four knockout stage encounters across all formats. In the last three ODI World Cups, though, one of the hosts has eliminated the Kiwis from the competition. One of these runs will be snapped at the storied Mumbai stadium in the next semi-final encounter.
Mohammed Shami took the most wickets for India in the 50-over format against New Zealand among active players with thirty. Shami has faced the Kiwis in 13 games.
With 19 wickets against New Zealand, Kuldeep Yadav is currently ranked second. Kuldeep has an economy rate of 5.74 and participated in 10 matches against Kane Williamson’s team.
Jasprit Bumrah played 12 matches against New Zealand and took 14 wickets. His economy rate stands at 4.69.
Ravindra Jadeja has played 13 matches against the Kiwis and is now in fourth place with eight wickets. Jadeja has a 5.13 economy rate.
India, the hosts, have continued their nine-game winning streak and performed admirably in the current lavish competition. With 18 points at the completion of the league stage, Rohit Sharma’s team led the ODI World Cup 2023 standings. Their run rate was +2.570 on a net basis.
India will play the Kiwis, who were fourth on the points table, after finishing first in the rankings.
The ‘Men in Blue’ maintained their pristine undefeated record in the ongoing tournament by defeating the Dutch team by a commanding 160 runs to end the league round.
However, New Zealand placed fourth, eliminating Pakistan and Afghanistan from the running. The Indians, who have had difficulty in major tournaments over the past ten years, will face a formidable test in the semi-final match.
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