Cricket World Cup: India v New Zealand rain-delayed semi-final

India are red-hot $1.17 favourites with leading cricket bookmaker William Hill to defeat New Zealand ($5) in their rain-interrupted semi-final at Old Trafford.

The match will resume, weather permitting, on Wednesday at 10.30am local time, with New Zealand on 5-211 after 46.1 overs, with Ross Taylor on 67 and Tom Latham on three. They have 23 balls to try to push the Black Caps out to a competitive total but the Kiwis will hope the batting conditions were as tough as they were on Tuesday.

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Taylor needs just one run to break out of a tie with star batsman Kane Williamson and be leading run-scorer for his team in this match, as predicted in the World Gambling List’s semi-final preview.

It won’t be easy though with superstar paceman Jasprit Bumrah still having two overs to bowl. The other 11 balls will likely be sent down by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who was surprisingly given the nod over the in-form paceman Mohammed Shami, who had taken 14 wickets in only four matches.

Weather outlook for ICC World Cup semi-final

The forecast for Manchester on Wednesday is for more poor weather, with India, who qualified as the top team after the group stages, going through to the final if no play is possible on the reserve day.

William Hill is offering $5 about the New Zealand team winning the semi-final, and they are not without a chance given the conditions may well suit damaging bowlers such a Trent Boult and Lockie Ferguson, and the outfield will be slow, potentially restricting run-scoring.

The leading cricket bookmaker is also offering odds on many more markets, including leading leading run-scorer for India and leading wicket-taker for New Zealand.

For full odds visit the William Hill website.

Second ICC World Cup semi-final: Australia v England

This match is due to be played at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Thursday, though the weather forecast is for scattered showers with sunny spells.

England are rated $1.73 favourites against Australia ($2.20), who have injury concerns heading into the match.

All-rounder Marcus Stoinis (side strain) passed a fitness test for the semi-final but is no certainty to play.

Right-hander Peter Handscomb will make his World Cup debut in the semi-final, replacing the unlucky Usman Khawaja (hamstring) in the line-up.

Handscomb joined the squad as replacement for Shaun Marsh, who was ruled out of the tournament last week with a fractured arm after being struck in the nets by a Pat Cummins thunderbolt.

Mystery remains over the make-up of the final Australia XI though, with dashing left-hander Matthew Wade called up to the squad upon Khawaja’s injury. Wade could be a late inclusion as replacement for Stoinis or out-of-sorts all-rounder Glenn Maxwell.

“We’ll pick our 11 and you’ll see it at the toss,” Australian coach Justin Langer told Fox Sports.

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