India started their world cup campaign on a positive note after they pipped a determined South Africa in their world cup opener by 6 wickets. They next pipped a much fancied and top contenders- Australia in their next clash by 36 runs to take two wins in as many matches. Their third game against New Zealand was washed off due to rain in Nottingham. In the biggest rivalry of world cricket, India faced Pakistan in their fourth fixture and they pipped the Sarfaraz Ahmed led team by a huge margin of 89 runs to take a lead of 7-0 against men in green in the world cup history.
The men in blue faced a tough task from a low lying Afghanistan in their next clash which turned out to be a low scoring thriller. India scored just 224 runs in their quota of 50 overs and Afghanistan fell just 11 runs short of the target.
In their sixth clash against an unpredictable West Indies, India’s middle order was again exposed as they finished on 468/7 at the end of 50 overs. Indian bowling line up led by Jasprit Bumrah proved too good for the Windies batsman as they were bowled out for 143 runs to hand a 125 run victory to India.
They were up against the tournament favourites England on 30th June at Birmingham and the English batsman made the most of the shorter boundaries and scored 337 runs in the quota of their 50 overs. In reply, India fell short of the target by 31 runs despite century from Rohit Sharma.
They next pipped a determined Bangladesh in their next clash by 28 runs to seal the semi-finals berth. In the dead rubber against Sri Lanka, Team India showed their batting prowess as they pipped the islanders by 7 wickets.
After the conclusion of league stage, we have our four semi-finalists- India(1), Australia(2), England(3) and New Zealand(4). Virat Kohli’s side will face a depleted New Zealand in the first semi final on 9th July at Manchester. The black caps will be high in confidence after pipping India in the warm-up game by 7 wickets.
Chances of rain in India vs New Zealand semi-final clash at Manchester
Rain can spoil the play in the first semi-final of the ongoing world cup between India and New Zealand on 9th July. The rain can halt the play through the course of the day as the weather will remain cloudy. This situation may favour the bowlers as the regular stopage of play may disturb the focus of the batsman.
According to Accuweather, the forecast is for “spotty showers” with precipitation of around 2 mm. Rain can pour down heavily for a period of 2 hours on Tuesday and may halt the play but it is not expected to cause a complete washout.
