India have won the toss and elected to bat first against New Zealand in the first semi-final match of the ICC men’s World Cup at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, India on Wednesday.
Winning the toss Indian captain Rohit Sharma said, “We are gonna bat first. Looks like a good pitch. Looks like on the slower side. Whatever we do, we need to do well. I think it was back in 2019 when we played the semis. NZ is one of the most consistent sides. Very important day. Constantly, talking about how important it is about turning up on that day. It is about controlling the controllables. Same team.”
New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson said, “We would have batted first. Looks like a used pitch. We would want to do well with the ball and then hopefully, some dew later. Amazing occasion. Four years ago, similar situation but a different location. They have been playing some good cricket. Always a building phase between the tournaments. Need to assess what is in front of you when the tournament starts. We are going with the same team from the previous match.”
New Zealand (Playing XI): Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson(c), Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham(w), Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Mark Chapman, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult.
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj.
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan