Virat Kohli and Mohammed Siraj during a practice session on the eve of the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup ODI match between India and New Zealand.
| Photo Credit: Deepak KR

With Australia making a dash for the semifinals and doing it the typical aggressive Aussie way, the qualifying scenario has begun to look very interesting, indeed. All eyes, though, will be on the clash between the table toppers New Zealand and India at Dharamshala.

The thin mountain air could help even the white ball to swing, especially once the sun sets and so it will be intriguing to see if India, who have opted to field first and chased down totals successfully, will be able to do so against what is arguably the tournament’s best new ball attack.

Trent Boult and Matt Henry’s swing and seam, and Ferguson’s pace against Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli is a mouth-watering prospect.

New Zealand, like India, have a good mix of new ball and spin bowlers and with great support from the fielders are able to exert pressure on the opposition. Kane Williamson’s unlucky injury opened the doors for two players and both Will Young and Rachin Ravindra have grabbed the chance eagerly and have done exactly what was expected of them. How they cope with Bumrah and Siraj at the start, and then the spin of Kuldeep and Jadeja could well decide if New Zealand get the platform for Mitchell and Co. to launch an attack later.

There’s Devon Conway, too, who has experience of playing in India and had batted really well in the IPL.

Hardik Pandya’s injury may provide a chance for Suryakumar Yadav though with India’s top three firing well and both Shreyas and Rahul settling into their jobs they may go in for the pace of Shami for the Dharamshala pitch.

Dharamshala is probably the loveliest cricketing ground in the world and fans will be hoping that the cricket between the top two teams will also be as pretty to watch.

(Professional Management Group)