Review
India fielded well. Special mention to KL’s keeping and Kuldeep’s ground fielding. Batted relatively better than opponents. Standouts are KL against Zampa, Rohit against Matt Henry and Kohli against Santner. There are no words to describe bowling. Bumrah’s wickets of Rizwan and Shadab, Stokes’s meltdown against Shami and Kuldeep’s wickets of Maxwell and Butler are just out of the world. A wrist spinner should not be able to demonstrate the zip and consistency that Kuldeep is showcasing. We will likely not witness this level of bowling skill and intensity again in our lifetime
NZ is the second best team irrespective of what the table says. Australia might not have qualified if not for Zampa. South Africa middle overs bowling is average and death bowling is just plain poor. India will be playing a team in semifinal which not only ensures zero unforced errors is a certainty but also tactically superior.
Preview
Let us get NZ obvious weakness out of the way. Rachin and Glenn Philips will have to bowl 10 overs and there is no way around it for NZ. If the conditions remain consistent for 100 overs it will be hard for NZ to compete with India.
There are few scenarios though where certain conditions and situations would make India vulnerable.
The major one – NZ puts up a par score and it swings & seams in the second half. Late swing and seam movement off the pitch at pace are unplayable. India would need a bit of luck as an accessory to either Rohit’s balance against moving ball (as demonstrated against Rabada’s seam bowling masterclass in 2019 World Cup opener and against Andersons swing in 2021 England tests) or for Kohli to do his thing and ace a stiff chase. Harris Rauf’s 2 balls are still so recent.
The other ones are – a fast bowler going down , Boult against Shami, Siraj, Kuldeep and Bumrah with around 25 runs to get or ending up 25 runs short
NZ could win only if above are in play and they are able to exploit them to the fullest extent. India could still win in spite of above. It would be so damn cruel on the 15 players should they be able to not cross the line tomorrow.