Cricket World Cup 2019: The most important match of the last four years: how do the Black Caps seize the Indian semifinal

After more than a month of games against the best teams in the world, the Black Caps are entering their eighth semifinal of the Cricket World Cup. But how far will they get out of it? Niall Anderson returns before his opening match and revisits the same key areas to gauge how the Black Caps are progressing before the big game.

Preparation

Everything seemed to be going well for the Black Caps in their first six games, comfortably seated at the top of the Cup with an unbeaten record.

Then really difficult games have arrived.

Losses in Pakistan, Australia and England The Black Caps had to rely on the net participation rate to go to the semi-finals and, even if it still required a miracle, it was far from the type of form they would like to have in their biggest match four years.

It's a race that augurs badly for their chances either.

On 16 occasions, a team entered the World Cup Round of 16 after losing – and none of these teams won the World Cup.

Add to the fact that no team has ever entered the playoff phase following three consecutive defeats, and that the Black Caps will have to be the first team in World Cup history to overcome a defeat from before the round of 16 – and a series of historic victories. losses to that.

injuries

The Black Caps have been relatively lucky with injuries. Although Tim Southee and Henry Nicholls missed the first games, they were not some starters and, apart from that, only Lockie Ferguson – facing England with a tight hamstring – was forced to miss any action.

Compare that to the rest of the semi-finalists, and the Black Caps may have few complaints. In Australia, Shaun Marsh and Usman Khawaja were excluded from the tournament. Marcus Stoinis has doubts, India was dismissed early in the match, Shikhar Dhawan, and England played several games with no crucial element in their game plan, opener Jason Roy.

The Black Caps still have a workout to play, but should have a shape and a health to choose from, with Ferguson giving themselves the green light to play.

"There was really tension, especially the day before the match, with the playoffs that took place the day before, it was more of a precaution than anything and the scans came back with nothing too serious," Ferguson said. .

L & # 39; s squad

They are all healthy, but can they all perform the day? There was no problem with the bowling attack, which allowed more than 300 points once in this tournament and provided many opportunities, thanks in large part to Trent's pace attack. Boult and Lockie Ferguson. Jimmy Neesham and Colin de Grandhomme, all bowling couture players, both had winning moments and performed well, while Kane Williamson was, unsurprisingly, one of the stars of the tournament with the bat.

Unfortunately for New Zealand, Williamson's two centuries – in consecutive games – are the only centuries that the team has badembled. Ross Taylor has been solid without having regained the spectacular shape he has shown in recent years, but the Black Caps openings were the worst in the World Cup and Tom Latham only managed to pbad 15 for the first time of all the tournaments when he hit 57 against England.

If one of the players, Martin Guptill, Henry Nicholls or Latham, can score a big score in the semifinals, that would go a long way in repairing what was a disappointing World Cup for the Black Caps drummers.

Opposition

India is a known opponent of the Black Caps, but not at the World Cups where they have not played since 2003. Their confrontation in the group stage has been swept in Nottingham, which means that you have to look for trends and ideas. you should look at the ODI series in New Zealand this summer, where India won 4-1, without Jasprit Bumrah and with Virat Kohli playing only three games.

The challenge of the Black Caps? Faced with the first ODI team, with the best bowling player of the ODI (Bumrah), the best drummer of the ODI (Kohli) and, oh, Rohit Sharma, who does not have to play the game. broke a five-century record at this World Cup, including three in a row.

It's even before reaching Indian spinners, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, who have combined for 17 wickets in the New Zealand series, or the designer Mohammed Shami, who has already scored a hat trick at this World Cup , or a guy named MS Dhoni.

The Black Caps have only won one of their last seven ODIs against India and they will need an almost perfect performance to double that total.

Floor

Old Trafford in Manchester, which was the favorite field to see the points scored at this Cricket World Cup. Hitting first turned out to be the winning formula, with scores of 336-5, 397-6, 291-8, 268-7 and 325-6, allowing the five teams to win their first win. A new field is in preparation for the semi-finals. Black Caps coach Gary Stead believes that first-round drummers will have to score 300 to have a good chance of qualifying for the final.

"It's a good cricket area and this has been the case throughout the tournament.

"If you look at the scores at Old Trafford, you'll find that it's about 300 of them tied, no doubt about it – you're going to have to score that much."

The weather could also play a role in Manchester, with a chance of drizzle Tuesday and the forecast should worsen for the day of the reserve on Wednesday. If it happened that the game was collapsed over two days, India would become the best qualification.

Past results

The Black Caps have played six games at ODI ended in Manchester, winning two wins, but only one of these matches is irrelevant for this World Cup semifinal.

Yes, in the only complete ODI game completed on the field since 1999, Old Trafford was the scene of the thrilling Black Caps win over the West Indies. This was unsurprisingly their best World Cup affair to date – a potential sign of the kind of scores that Stead and many others will need to qualify for the World Cup final.

The chances

The Black Caps have $ 3.50 to beat India – their longest of all tournaments – and are huge underdogs compared to the other three remaining teams, sitting at $ 10 to win the World Cup.