World Cup 2019, 1st Semi-Final: India vs New Zealand – Fantain Fantasy Cricket Tips

Quite a turn of events. It almost looked certain that India would face England at the first semi-final of World Cup 2019. And then South Africa pulled a rabbit out of the hat to defeat the defending champions thus placing India on top of the table. Team India now has to defeat New Zealand to enter the finals. Here is all you need to read for both the teams before picking your Fantain XI.

Team News:

India

India defeating Sri Lanka was more or less expected. What was amazing was that the target was hit with more than 6 overs to spare. KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma went hammer and tongs on their southern neighbour to show that even though they had already qualified, they were not planning to take it easy.

The line-up for the semi-finals can be tricky. A few changes were made to the team that took on Sri Lanka and the team delivered magnificently. From struggling with injuries to too many good choices to pick from, India has to pick the right team to take on New Zealand.

Chahal and Shami were dropped against Sri Lanka but they should find their spot in the first semi-finals. It will be a difficult choice between Dinesh Karthik and Kedar Jadhav.

Our strong batsmen would be Kohli, Sharma, KL Rahul; supported by Dhoni and Hardik Pandya.

Probable XI: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Mohammad Shami, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah.

New Zealand

The team has never won the World Cup. That is their biggest motivating factor. Having lost three matches in a row, they dropped down to the fourth place leaving a lot to chance. They face a team that has lost only one match and will have to bring in their strongest players to play.

The losses are in the past. This is a whole new ball game. New Zealand has what it takes to win the world cup. All it takes is one good game of cricket, or in this case two.

Probable XI: Martin Guptill, Henry Nicholls, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Tom Latham, James Neesham, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult.

Top Picks

Dhoni: He might not have been at top form but given that he is one of those few players who can handle anything thrown at him, Dhoni would be a priceless addition to your Fantain Fantasy Lineup.

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli: The names are good enough reasons to add them to the key-players list

Williamson and Taylor: Strong contributors in the team, New Zealand will depend on these two players to make a high score.

Bumrah, Shami, Ferguson and Boult: These pacers have been really successful in this tournament. They have 63 wickets between them.

Fantain Fantasy XI

Batsmen:  Rohit Sharma, Williamson, Kohli, KL Rahul

Bowlers: Bumrah, Boult, Ferguson, Henry

All-Rounders: Hardik  Pandya, Neesham

WK: Latham

This is our Fantain Fantasy XI but you’re the real expert.