India v New Zealand cricket World Cup semi-final 1 preview, player tips & predictions

Welcome to our ICC World Cup predictions for the first semi-final between India v New Zealand at Old Trafford, Manchester, on Tuesday. Our Cricket World Cup betting expert seeks out some potentially lucrative wagers.

India are hot favourites to defeat New Zealand in this semi-final and advance to the final of the ICC World Cup at Lord’s on Sunday.
Our favourite British cricket bookmaker William Hill rates the Indians as $1.40 chances to triumph and they certainly have momentum on their side.

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We are stepping a little into the unknown in this match as the group match between India and New Zealand scheduled for Trent Bridge on June 13 was washed out.
However, India did soundly defeat the Kiwis 4-1 in a five-match series in New Zealand earlier this year and have barely put a foot wrong in this tournament.

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India’s only defeat came at the hands of England last week when they were already safely through to the semi-finals, while the Black Caps advanced in fourth place despite consecutive defeats by Pakistan, Australia and England.
India have all their big guns in super form: opener Rohit Sharma has made five centuries in nine digs, superstar Virat Kohli has hardly needed to break a sweat and star bowler Jasprit Bumrah has gotten better the longer the tournament has worn on.
New Zealand face a massive task to upset the Indians, and desperately need a lift from their top-order batsmen, with the notable exception of Kane Williamson, who has been in magnificent touch.

This India v New Zealand semi-final betting preview will run you through betting options for match 46 of 48 of the ICC World Cup 2019.

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MATCH INFO
India v New Zealand
Venue: Old Trafford, Tuesday, July 9, 10.30am (British time)
Head to head odds: India $1.40; New Zealand $2.90
Last time they met: India 252 (49.5 overs) d New Zealand 217 (44.1 overs) in Wellington, NZ, February 3, 2019.

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India v New Zealand odds:

For full odds visit the William Hill website.

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HEAD TO HEAD BETTING:

India $1.40, New Zealand $2.90
Prediction: India are in irresistible form and should be too strong, but the Kiwis are battle-hardened and the toss and weather as always will be crucial.

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TOP RUN-SCORER BETTING PREDICTIONS:

India:
Top run-scorers betting: Rohit Sharma $3, Virat Kohli $3.25, Lokesh Rahul $4.33, Mayank Agarwal $4.50, Rishabh Pant $7.

Top scorers from all World Cup 2019 matches:

v Sri Lanka: Lokesh Rahul 111
v Bangladesh: Rohit Sharma 104
v England: Rohit Sharma 102
v West Indies: Virat Kohli 72
v Afghanistan: Virat Kohli 67
v Pakistan: Rohit Sharma 140
v New Zealand: Match abandoned
v Australia: Shikhar Dhawan 117
v South Africa: Rohit Sharma 122no

New Zealand:
Top run-scorers betting: Kane Williamson $3, Martin Guptill $4.50, Ross Taylor $4.50, Henry Nicholls $5, Colin Munro $6.

Top scorers from all World Cup 2019 matches:
v England: Tom Latham 57
v Australia: Kane Williamson 40
v Pakistan: Jimmy Neesham 97no
v West Indies: Kane Williamson 148
v South Africa: Kane Williamson 106no
v India: Match abandoned
v Afghanistan: Kane Williamson 79no
v Bangladesh: Ross Taylor 82
v Sri Lanka: Martin Guptill 73no

Top batter prediction: How can you look past Rohit Sharma, who has looked rock solid throughout and made an incredible five centuries in this tournament? We can only say he is due for a failure but he is seeing the ball like it’s a watermelon. Virat Kohli has looked in superb touch but even batting at No.3 he has had to bide his time, with opener Lokesh Rahul also getting among the runs. Kohli’s time to shine here at $3.25. Martin Guptill has had a poor series and the Kiwis need the top run-scorer from 2015 to offer some resistance. We will try Ross Taylor with a small wager at decent odds here.

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TOP WICKET-TAKER BETTING PREDICTION:

India:
Top wicket-takers betting: Jasprit Bumrah $3.50, Mohammed Shami $4, Yuzvendra Chahal $4, Bhuvneshwar Kumar $4.50, Kuldeep Yadav $5.

Top wicket-takers from all World Cup 2019 matches:
v Sri Lanka: Jasprit Bumrah 3-37
v Bangladesh: Jasprit Bumrah 4-55
England: Mohammed Shami 5-69
v West Indies: Mohammed Shami 4-16
v Afghanistan: Mohammed Shami 4-40
v Pakistan: Vijay Shankar 2-22, Kuldeep Yadav 2-32, Hardik Pandya 2-44
v New Zealand: Match abandoned
v Australia: Jasprit Bumrah 3-61, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 3-50
v South Africa: Yuzvendra Chahal 4-51

New Zealand:
Top wicket-takers betting: Trent Boult $3.75, Lockie Ferguson $3.75, Matt Henry $4.50, Tim Southee $4.50, Ish Sodhi $5.

Top wicket-takers from all World Cup 2019 matches:
Bowlers:
v England: Trent Boult 2-54, Matt Henry 2-54, Jimmy Neesham 2-41
v Australia: Trent Boult 4-51
v Pakistan: Trent Boult 1-48, Lockie Ferguson 1-50, Kane Williamson 1-39
v West Indies: Trent Boult 4-30
v South Africa: Lockie Ferguson 3-59
v India: Match abandoned
v Afghanistan: Jimmy Neesham 5-31
v Bangladesh: Matt Henry 4-47
v Sri Lanka: Matt Henry 3-29, Lockie Ferguson 3-22

Top bowler tip: While Bumrah has run into good form, fellow paceman Mohammed Shami destroyed the West Indies at Old Trafford so we will predict Shami will be the leading wicket-taker for the Indians in this semi-final. Shami is fresh too after only being called into action later in the series. For New Zealand, the old bull Trent Boult has been kind to the WGL tipsters last World Cup and again this time. As with Shami, Boult ran through the Windies’ batting line-up at this ground so he will go in with plenty of confidence and $3.75 with William Hill looks attractive as he has a wealth of experience.

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Best bets: India v New Zealand

Each of our ICC World Cup betting previews will highlight some potential wins for punters, or where our cricket tipsters think there is value to be found.

Virat Kohli man of the match at $8

While Rohit Sharma has been India’s leading light in the group matches, we expect the captain to stand up now that the business end of the event is here. Kohli’s record of performing when the stakes are at their highest is exceptional.

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India v New Zealand predictions

India have an incredible team, with top-notch batsmen, wicketkeeper, pacemen and spinners. They have no weak links. Strange things can happen when it comes to these knockout matches, but they have shown no signs of wilting. The Kiwis were great early on in the group stages but their form has tapered off a little. On the plus side, the expectations have been lowered and that underdog status can be invaluable. We expect India though to come through and make their way to Lord’s for a memorable final of this 12th ICC World Cup.

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