WC 23: Can India bury the ghost of 2019 World Cup semifinal against New Zealand | Sledging Room, Ep 84

India have been the best team in the tournament by a mile. Unbeaten in the league stage, Rohit Sharma’s men have been in sublime form. The openers have fired, Virat Kohli at No.3 has been unstoppable, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul have given the middle-order plenty of heft while the three pacers – Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami and the two spinners – Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav – have destroyed batting line-ups for fun. Even in the absence of Hardik Pandya, India have been a force to reckon with.

New Zealand, who played and lost the last two World Cup finals, will fancy their chances too. They haven’t been the best team of the tournament but they did enough to reach the last-four of yet another world event. With Kane Williamson fit and raring to go, expect typical guts and glory from the Kiwis, who have a lot of batting depth and some serious assets in the pace department. 

India have not won an ICC trophy in 10 years and they are in the best possible position to end that jinx. 

But it won’t be easy despite their trailblazing campaign.

South Africa are playing Australia in the second semifinal and neither of those two teams will be easy to deal with. Australia, five-time champions, started on a sluggish note, but they found their mojo soon after and have been formidable. South Africa slipped twice but their batters are perhaps the most dangerous in ODIs now. They can pack a punch in vital moments even as chasing might still be an issue, especially in crunch games.