India vs New Zealand, ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 Stats Preview: Kiwis' dismal semi-final record gives Virat Kohli's men advantage

The Kiwis will take on India in the first semi-final at Old Trafford in this year’s World Cup’s first semi-final. Both the teams have won 53 matches each in ODI World Cups. New Zealand defeated India in the practice match while India topped the points table in the league stage, therefore, it will be interesting to see who comes out on top but before that let’s have a look at few of the stats and facts. New Zealand have beaten India in all the three matches that they have played against them in England. However, New Zealand have lost their last three matches in this World Cup — the first instance when they lost three consecutive matches in an ODI World Cup.

New Zealand have lost six semi-finals in ODI World Cups which is a record. Their only win in a World Cup semi-final came against South Africa in 2015.

India’s top-order batting average of 69.86 is the highest among all teams in the tournament so far. The difference between India and New Zealand’s top-order batting average is 28.81 while the difference in average in middle-order is reduced to 4.29 which means that it is a concern for both the teams. Therefore, if New Zealand bowlers can put some pressure early on the Indian top-order, it will make for an intriguing battle.

New Zealand are the only team to have an economy rate under five in the league stage of this year’s World Cup. Moreover, they also had the best average, while India had the best bowling strike rate. Therefore, it can be said that whichever team’s batsmen play well, will win the game as bowlers have performed almost equally well for both teams so far in the tournament.

Captains of both teams also performed more or less the same during the league stage. It’s just that Kohli has not been able to convert his fifties into centuries. If he does convert in the semis, it will be tough for Williamson and Co to stop India from winning the battle.

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