ICC World Cup 2023: India eye peak on mountain top!

Rohit Sharma during India’s practice session at Dharamsala on Saturday. Pic/PTI

The chilly, snow-capped peaks of the Dhauladhar mountain ranges here are akin to the cool cricket that both India and New Zealand - the table-toppers of this World Cup with four-out-of-four wins - have dished out so far. But all that will change on Sunday when one of them will have a defeat across their name at the end of what is expected to be a thrilling contest between fast bowlers making full use of the traditionally pace-friendly track at the HPCA Stadium here and technically sound batsmen.

Also Read: ICC World Cup 2023: Who will fill the void of Hardik Pandya?

In ICC events, India have not beaten New Zealand since 2003. And with all-rounder Hardik Pandya having twisted his left ankle in the last game against Bangladesh, Tom Latham & Co could not have picked a better time to have a go at the Men in Blue.

India head coach Rahul Dravid admitted that Pandya's absence affects the team's balance. "Hardik is an important player and all-rounder for us and he helps balance our squad really well. But he's going to miss this one, so we'll have to see what's the best combination for these conditions. But yes, we might not have the kind of balance we used in the first four games," Dravid said at the pre-match press conference.

Mumbai's big-hitter Suryakymar Yadav could get his opportunity to bat at No. 6, though some might argue that pacer Mohammed Shami makes for an equally good pick given the speedy conditions at the high-altitude venue.

Selection dilemma for India

Dravid discussed the various permutations and combinations on offer. "We are pretty clear on what our playing XI is tomorrow [Sunday], but I wouldn't want to give too much away. We can go with the three fast bowlers or three spinners. With that, we could play Ash [R Ashwin] and move Ravindra Jadeja up. Also, having someone like Shami sitting out and bringing him in this game is a great option. It's also nice to have Ishan [Kishan] who has been playing well. But Surya has got into some great form against Australia. He played a couple of fantastic innings and is an absolutely fantastic player against spin. Plus, this may be for a middle-overs role so, if we're looking for someone, who might be a bit of an enforcer for us in the lower-middle order, then Surya is certainly someone who can do that."

The former India captain was also all praise for the 2019 World Cup finalists, insisting that the hosts will have to be at their absolute best to win this one. "They [NZ] are a very good side and are playing very good cricket. They play in India a lot. They come on many ‘A' tours to India and many of their players have played in the IPL, so they're used to these conditions. We were going through their squad during our strategy meetings and found that they have a lot of experience and depth as well. We'll have to be at our absolute best but we are very confident," he said.

Latham confident

NZ skipper Latham, meanwhile, admitted that his pace battery, led by Trent Boult have a job on their hands against India's in-form top order led by prolific striker Rohit Sharma. "India's top-order has been fantastic in this tournament, but our bowling attack has done a really good job up front as well. So that's going to be a great contest with bat and ball, and obviously vice versa with India's seamers against our top order. There are some pretty good match-ups there," he said.
Currently, NZ are ahead of India in the points table only marginally on net run-rate, and that's exactly what Sunday's clash promises to be - a game of fine margins.

2003
The year India last beat NZ in an ICC tournament