New Zealand vs Australia match, Weather Update in London today: Clear skies expected as Kiwis look to seal semi-final spot

New Zealand vs Australia, London weather update, ICC Cricket World Cup 2019: New Zealand will look to join Australia in the ICC Cricket World Cup semi-finals when they lock horns with the defending champions at Lord’s in Saturday’s second game in a re-match of last edition’s final.

Aaron Finch’s men have had quite a comfortable campaign so far, barring their only loss to India in the tournament’s earlier stages. The five-time champions confirmed their spot in the last-four stage following their 64-run win over hosts England.

New Zealand will look to join Australia in the ICC Cricket World Cup semi-finals. Reuters

While their pace trio of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Jason Behrendorff have looked deadly in this tournament, head coach Justin Langer has said that the speedsters would not be rested, with their last league match against South Africa on 6 July.

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Aaron Finch and David Warner have been building solid platforms at the top. The duo has stitched five fifty-plus partnerships for the opening wicket in as many matches in the World Cup.

Kane Williamson’s New Zealand, meanwhile, had a perfect opportunity to seal their last-four place but went down to the unpredictable Pakistan side following Babar Azam’s heroics on Wednesday. That, obviously, meant that their wait only extended further.

However, the New Zealand skipper has once again proved that his role with the bat will be crucial for the team. So far in the tournament, the 28-year-old has registered scores of 67, 85, 40, 79*, 106*, 148 and 41.

Meanwhile, waiting in the wings is Henry Nicholls, the established opener with Guptill, until he hurt his left hamstring on the eve of the tournament, and fast bowler Tim Southee, who has watched his teammates concede centuries to Carlos Brathwaite and Babar Azam in their last two matches.

Nicholls and Southee have been available since the third match against Afghanistan but unable to break back into a starting XI that has been winning consistently.

According to AccuWeather, It will be a bright and sunny day in London with the match set to start at 1.30 PM local time (1800 IST). The best possible news for fans ahead of the Trans-Tasman rivalry is that rain is not forecasted, and a cracker of a contest is expected. And as the match progresses, the sky is expected to be clear by the night.

With agency inputs

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