Rivalry Renewed : India ready to take on New Zealand in ICC ODI world Cup 2023.

      India is all set to take on New Zealand on 22nd October at Himachal Pradesh cricket Association stadium, Dharamshala. The match will start at 2:00 pm (IST). New Zealand has had perfect start to the world Cup 2023. They remain unbeaten in all 4 matches played so far, and their confidence must be sky high! They have won all their matches with big margins. In their first match they handed defending champions England a defeat by 9 wickets. While in 2nd they defeated Netherlands by 99 runs at Rajiv Gandhi international stadium. In 3rd match they defeated Bangladesh by 8 wickets. New Zealand achieved comprehensive victory against Afghanistan by 149 runs. In that match Afghanistan had won the toss and decided to field first. In 50 overs New Zealand had set target of 289 for Afghanistan. New Zealand's  bowler didn't allow Afghanistan batters to come anywhere close to this score. They dismissed the entire team for just 139 runs in 34.4 overs. 

     India is on winning streak too, just like New Zealand! They haven't lost a match in world Cup 2023.They are undefeated in there 4 matches. India kicked off their world Cup 2023 campaign With a comprehensive 6 wicket victory against Australia. In their second match, India secured a convincing 8 wicket win against Afghanistan. While in third match, India emerged victorious against arch-rivals Pakistan With a commanding 7 wicket triumph on 14 October. It was most anticipated match of tournament. On 19 October India defeated Bangladesh by 7 wickets. It was dominating performance by the host. New Zealand is on first position while India is on second position in points table. Both the team have 8 points each in the tournament so far. 

India vs New Zealand head-to-head in ODI world Cup. 

  

    India and New Zealand have gone head-to-head in 9 matches in ICC ODI world Cup. Among these 9 matches India has won 3 , while New Zealand emerged triumphant in 5 matches. While one match was called off due to rain in 2019 world Cup. The highest total in New Zealand vs India encounter is 253 posted by New Zealand , while 146 is lowest total posted by New Zealand. India has posted lowest total 150 against New Zealand in world Cup matches. 

ODI stats and record at Dharamshala cricket stadium. 

• Total matches played:7
• Matches won by the team batting first: 3
• Matches won by the team bowling first: 4
• Average first innings score: 229
• Average second innings score : 198
• Highest team total: 364 by England against Bangladesh. 
• Lowest team total: 112 by India vs Sri Lanka
• Highest run chase: 227 by England vs India
• Lowest score defended : 245 by Netherlands vs South Africa.   

     A total of 7 ODI matches have been played at Dharamshala cricket stadium. Out of these 7 matches team bowling first have won 4 matches, while team batting first won 3.Average first innings score at this venue is around 229 while average second innings score is 198. England holds the record for the highest team total at Dharamshala stadium. In 2023 world Cup they scored 364 runs against Bangladesh at this venue. Dawid Malan has played fantastic knock of 140 for England which is highest individual score at Dharamshala. Indian team has lowest team total of 112 against sri Lanka in HPCA. MS Dhoni scored 65 runs for India in this low scoring match. England had the highest run chase of 227 against India at this beautiful venue. Netherlands had defended 245 runs against mighty South Africa , and secured their first victory of 2023 world Cup. Virat Kohli is top run-getter with 212 runs at Dharamshala cricket stadium. 

 

 Dharamshala cricket stadium pitch report. 

      Dharamshala cricket stadium also known as Himachal Pradesh cricket Association stadium (HPCA) is located in beautiful city of Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh. The fact that the Stadium is situated in Himalayan foothills adds to its picturesque beauty! The stadium has a seating capacity of around 23000 and had hosted several international as well domestic matches. In 2023 world Cup stadium will host 5 matches including India vs New Zealand. HPCA is situated at an altitude of 1457m above the sea level. Dharamshala Which is situated at high altitude features pitches that provide assistance to pacers due to thinner air affecting the ball's movement. In starting overs batters will have to play cautiously. But as the game progresses it tends to become more batting friendly. As it will be day-night match there will be possibility of dew coming in 2nd innings. But on particular day pitch condition will depend on weather, pitch preparation and many other factors. So far, 3 matches of world Cup 2023 have been played at this venue. It is difficult to put up massive total on board so the team winning the toss prefer to chase at this venue. In all three matches team winning the toss had chose to chase. Bangladesh has chased 157 runs target comfortably. While in second match at this venue England had set huge target of 365 runs for Bangladesh and bowled out Bangladesh for 227 runs. While in third match Netherlands has defended target of 245 against South Africa. 

   India vs New Zealand - A Battle for the finals in 2019 World Cup.

   Last time India and New Zealand had a riveting encounter in the semi-final of 2019 world Cup at old Trafford cricket ground , England was Rain-affected. New Zealand had won the toss and decided to bat. Ross Taylor's knock of 74 and Kane Williamson's contribution of 67 runs helped new Zealand set a target of 240 runs for India. India had a horrible start to their run chase when they come out to bat. India's top three batters Rohit Sharma, Kl Rahul and Virat Kohli were dismissed With team's score at 5/3. MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja managed to stabilize India's innings and India was moving toward a win. Martin Guptill ran out MS Dhoni , which proved to be turning point of match. MS Dhoni and Jadeja has scored 50 and 77 runs respectively. New Zealand had defeated India by 18 runs. 

      It will be thrilling to see whether it will be India or New Zealand whose winning streak will come to an end? Whether India can take revenge for they loss in 2019 World Cup semi finals? This battle of top 3 run-getters in 2023 world Cup between Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and New Zealand's Devon Conway will be intense! Rohit Sharma is the leading run scorer with 265 runs, followed by Virat Kohli with 259 runs, and Devon Conway with 249 runs in the 2023 world cup. Mitchell Santner from New Zealand is top wicket-taker with 11 wickets , followed by Jasprit Bumrah with 10 and Matt Henry with 9 wickets in 4 matches. We can be sure that this match will be an intense battle between bat and ball.  Who do you think will be top performer in India vs New Zealand?