India made just one change to their XI from their last league game for the semifinal against New Zealand, drafting in Yuzvendra Chahal for Kuldeep Yadav.
It meant India stuck with their five-bowler strategy, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar retaining his place ahead of Mohammed Shami.
Coming into the game, Bhuvneshwar had not picked up a wicket in his first spells in any of the games – an area where Shami has been much better. However, Shami’s death bowling was a concern in his last two matches. The overcast conditions in Manchester would have worked in Bhuvneshwar’s favour.
India also picked Ravindra Jadeja over Kuldeep, who has a good record against New Zealand. However, Kuldeep has not been among the wickets in the World Cup, and India have decided to strengthen their lower-order batting.
New Zealand won the toss and opted to bat first. They made one change too, with Lockie Ferguson replacing Tim Southee. Ferguson had missed New Zealand’s last match with a tight hamstring.
The Old Trafford in Manchester had hosted five games in the league stage, with the team batting first winning all of them.
Teams:
India: KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli(c), Rishabh Pant, MS Dhoni(w), Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah.
New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Henry Nicholls, Kane Williamson(c), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham(w), James Neesham, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Trent Boult
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