New Delhi: With the beginning of semi-final clash in the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 from November 15, the stage is set for first epic clash between the hosts Men in Blue and the Kiwis. The first semi-final between Team India and New Zealand will be played at Mumbai’s Wankhede stadium.
India started its World Cup campaign on a stormy note and has remained undefeated in the entire tournament so far while New Zealand lost couple of matches but won last crucial games to ensure its entry into the semi-final.
November 15 will be a crucial day for both the teams as they will look to outwit each other and make way into the World Cup final. The game is set to be thriller of sorts as both teams will be pushing for victory till the last ball.
India Vs New Zealand: Who has the edge
Though, cricket fans would be watching the high-voltage clash with bated breadth and would be hoping for a cliffhanger of sorts, only time will tell which team has the last laugh.
Both teams are fairly competent and hope to do well in semi clash. An account of previous encounters between the two teams in World Cup tournaments gives a good insight of what to expect. Though, Kiwis maintain an edge over Team India, this year, they have been on backfoot owing to string of losses.
In the World Cup 2023, Team India has looked more menacing than the Kiwis. In the last 2019 World Cup, the Kiwi had an upper hand as they beat India in semi-final. In previous WCs including 2007, 2011 or 2015 WC, the two teams didn’t see other in the eye.
It’s not just a Semifinal, It’s Revenge Time Now. India vs New Zealand. 👑 🇮🇳💯#INDvsNZ #INDvNZ #NZvsIND #Semifinals #IndianCricketTeam #KLRahul #RohitSharma #ViratKohli𓃵 #IPL2024
Star Sports | Trent Boult | IPL RCB | IPL CSK | Rohit Sharma | Warner | pic.twitter.com/rQT2USUQo1— Devashish Patel (@deva_shish0) November 14, 2023
India vs New Zealand: Last 5 World Cup clashes
1) World Cup 2023
India locked horns with New Zealand in Dharmshala in the league stages. It defeated the visitors easily by 4 wickets on back of Virat Kohli’s sublime knock of 95 runs and Mohammed Shami’s ferocious delivery of 5/54.
2) ICC World Cup 2019 semi-final
This was a real heartbreak moment for Team India. It lost the match to Kiwis by 18 runs and got kicked out of the tournament. MS Dhoni & team had enough hopes of making it to final but that got dashed after loss to Kiwis.
3) ICC World Cup 2004
Prior to 2019 World Cup, the two sides didn’t meet each other until 2004. Indian pacer Zaheer Khan pierced through the Kiwi batting line-up and bundled out the visitors at a meagre 146 runs. India defeated New Zealand in this match.
4) ICC World Cup 2019
New Zealand, led by Matt Horne & Roger Twose put up a good show on back of blistering knocks from the batting duo. Indian batsmen couldn’t live upto challenge and the team lost match by 5 wickets. Ajay Jadeja earned a name for himself by scoring 76 runs, however that went in vain.
5) ICC World Cup 1992
This was another World Cup match, where Kiwis overpowered Team India. Despite Sachin Tendulkar’s terrific 84 runs and Manoj Prabhakar’s good bowling spell, Team India lost the match by 4 wickets.
