When India takes on New Zealand in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 on Tuesday, July 9, it will be the seventh instance of India playing in a World Cup semi-final.
The match will be played at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Manchester, the same venue where India had beaten England in the 1983 World Cup semi-final. Having ended as the table-toppers in the league stages, Virat Kohli and co. would be extremely confident about making it to the final, which will be played at the Lord’s Cricket Ground in London on July 14. The other two semi-finalists are England and Australia.
Live audio commentary and score
Star Sports broadcast WC Semi-final
Star Sports 1, Star Sports Select 1 and Star Sports 1 Hindi will broadcast the match live in India. The television coverage will start at 3:00 PM IST. The online streaming of the match will be available on Hotstar’s app and website for the viewers in the Indian subcontinent. Sky Sports will start their broadcast of the match in New Zealand at 8:30 PM NZDT. Sky Sports website and the app will provide live streaming.
India likely to go for Shami ahead of Bhuvi
India opted to rest Mohammad Shami and Yuzvendra Chahal in their last league match against Sri Lanka. Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav had played in place of the duo.
Come to the semi-final, India might go back to their regular bowling attack which has played the majority of the matches of this tournament. This could also mean that Bhuvaneshwar Kumar missing out but the final combination will be revealed right after the toss.
Ferguson fully fit for the semis
New Zealand has been struggling with their opening pair so far in this tournament. Colin Munro, Henry Nicholls and Martin Guptill, all have failed to make big scores and which has to lead to the downfall of the Kiwis towards the end of the league stages. Lockie Ferguson who missed their last match will come back to the team in place of Tim Southee.
The weather in Manchester could be slightly overcast, which could help the bowlers initially. As we have seen throughout the tournament, teams have been able to put big scores on this wicket and that could continue when the semi-final takes place.