India comfortably won against Australia as the Aussies lost by 36 runs against the Virat Kohli-led side. Batting first, India tabled a score of 352 runs thanks to a century from opener Shikhar Dhawan and a crucial 82-run knock from captain Kohli. Later, Indian bowlers strangled the Aussies who were unable to chase the huge target despite half-centuries from David Warner, Steve Smith, and Alex Carey.
However, after an overwhelming win against the defending champions, now Virat Kohli & Co. have another challenge ahead against an in-form New Zealand side, who have won all the World Cup 2019 games they played. New Zealand have begun their World Cup campaign on a winning note as they emerged victorious in the three matches they played against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.
Earlier, Kane Williamson-led New Zealand had defeated India by six wickets in their first warm-up match of the Cricket World Cup 2019 at the Oval in London. Therefore, in order to attain their third win in a row, the Indian team needs to keep a few things in mind.
In 12 matches against India, Kiwi pacer Trent Boult has picked up 22 wickets. The pacer has caused serious damage to the Indian batting lineup. Prior to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, during India's Tour of New Zealand in January 2019, Boult had bagged eight wickets in the last two encounters of the five-match ODI series.
Similarly, he had scalped three wickets during the Cricket World Cup 2019 warm-up match against India at The Oval. Now, the weather at Trent Bridge, Nottingham is predicted to be overcast and therefore, it is likely that Boult might get a favourable pitch to bowl on.
Therefore, it is crucial that the Indian camp shows patience and resistance against Boult and look to target the other four bowlers and attack them.
Dhawan had sustained an injury while playing against defending champions Australia. The southpaw took a hit on his left thumb while trying to play a bouncer from Nathan Coulter-Nile. Despite the injury, he went on to score a match-winning 117 against.. Later, he went for a scan on Monday which revealed that he had a fracture. Accordingly, the left-hander has been ruled out of Cricket World Cup 2019 for three weeks and thus, India are now left with a void in their almost perfect team.
Therefore, it is possible that KL Rahul will side with Rohit Sharma to open the innings for India. In the meantime, India will look to find a batsman that can provide the team with much-needed stability in the middle-order. While it is possible that Rishabh Pant might make his World Cup 2019 debut, Ambati Rayudu has a better chance of bagging the position.
So can India bounce back after the loss in the warm-up match against New Zealand or will they become another Asian side to be defeated by the Kiwis in Cricket World Cup 2019? Well, the question remains to be answered on Thursday, June 13 with Kohli and Williamson leading their respective teams for a battle of the best.
Share
Tweet
