India and New Zealand meet in a top-of-the-table blockbuster as the only undefeated teams remaining in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 on Sunday at the HPCA Stadium, in Dharamsala.

India face New Zealand with more on the line than just overturning a poor past record against their World Cup nemesis.

The two standouts of the Cricket World Cup so far sit at the top of table with four wins from four matches, and both will be out to put more distance on the chasing pack while stretching their own winning streak.

New Zealand have something of a stronghold over India in the showpiece event, with a 5-3 advantage at past tournaments and famously won their most recent Cricket World Cup clash to book a spot in the Final in 2019.

But India can look to brush aside any previous encounters after making a bright start to the Cricket World Cup on home soil that has included emphatic victories over rivals Pakistan and five-time champions Australia.

The hosts will be forced to make at least one change with all-rounder Hardik Pandya set to miss the high-stakes clash after rolling an ankle against Bangladesh, while New Zealand will again be without captain Kane Williamson.

Tom Latham has proved to be a more than capable stand-in skipper and can be relied on to make runs with a pair of fifties from his only two knocks so far at the event. Devon Conway has also amassed plenty of runs (249) for New Zealand to be the fourth-highest scorer at the tournament.

But India have two batters ahead of the New Zealand dynamo, with Rohit Sharma (265) and Virat Kohli (259) showing the sort of imperious form that should ensure this heavyweight clash lives up to the top-billing.

Squads

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav.

New Zealand: Kane Williamson (c), Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitch Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Will Young.

Key Players
India – Mohammed Siraj
The India pacer has had a solid but not spectacular start to the Cricket World Cup and now needs to step up in the absence of injured all-rounder Hardik Pandya.

While Jasprit Bumrah has made a stirring impact since returning to the attack and has 10 wickets at the tournament, Siraj has played more of a support role with five scalps.

India spinner hails pace attack as key to fast start
India have still been able to dismiss 36 batters in four innings so far, but the concern for Siraj is that he has also leaked runs at 6.32 an over. This has included 0/76 from nine overs against Afghanistan and 2/50 from eight overs against Pakistan.

The No.3 bowler in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s ODI Bowling Rankings is likely to be targeted again by the dynamic New Zealand top order, but if he can rise to the occasion in the typically swing-friendly conditions in Dharamsala then India will be well-placed to claim a rousing victory.

New Zealand – Trent Boult
The New Zealand veteran looms as India’s greatest threat in favorable conditions for pacers in Dharamsala.

India are well aware of the damage Boult can do after the evergreen left-armer and fellow quick Matt Henry tore through their top order in the Cricket World Cup 2019 semi-final to all but end the chase before it began.

The consistent Boult has performed at his usual high level at the Cricket World Cup and has five wickets while giving up only 4.14 runs an over to be one of the tidiest bowlers so far.

While the focus on India decks often turns to spin, Boult is within one rating point of top spot in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s ODI Bowling Rankings for a reason and is likely to have a say on the outcome of this top-of-the-table clash.

For fans in Afghanistan

Ariana Television Network is the official broadcasting partner in Afghanistan and has the exclusive rights to broadcast and stream Cricket World Cup 2023 matches into the homes of fans, live, each day.

As we fight the global quest to Stop Piracy, we appeal to our fans in Afghanistan to tune in to Ariana Television or visit www.arianatelevision.com, and stream matches live.

Please don’t support pirate broadcasters and websites streaming pirated versions!

Afghanistan’s fixtures still to come, that will be broadcast live on Ariana Television are as follows:

Afghanistan’s fixtures are as follows?

• Afghanistan vs Pakistan: Monday, October 23, 2023, Chennai
• Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka: Monday, October 30, 2023, Pune
• Afghanistan vs Netherlands: Friday, November 3, 2023, Lucknow
• Afghanistan vs Australia: Tuesday, November 7, 2023, Mumbai
• Afghanistan vs South Africa: Friday, November 10, 2023, Ahmedabad