The first semi-final of the 2023 ODI World Cup between India and New Zealand will now be played on a used pitch instead of a fresh one in Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium. The developments were reported by ESPNCricinfo. As per the International Cricket Council (ICC), the ground authority, in this case, the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA), is responsible for selecting the surface for the match.

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There’s also no requirement of the ICC that the knockout matches must be played on a fresh surface. The ICC regulation on the usage of pitch says: “It is expected that venues that are allocated the responsibility of hosting a match will present the best possible pitch and outfield conditions for that match.”

While the 2019 semifinal was played on a fresh pitch in England, the T20 World semifinals last year in Australia were played on a used surface.

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As for the India vs Zealand semi-final, it was first supposed to be played on pitch 7 of Wankhede’s surface block but now it will be played on pitch 6. ESPNCricinfo, citing a source, said: “6-8-6-8-7 was the planned rotation at Wankhede. 6-8-6-8 is what has been used so far.”

The pitch 6 is the same one on which South Africa beat England by 229 runs while India dismantled Sri Lanka for just 55 runs.

Talking about the game, India look the much-balanced side of the two and that has reflected in the results in the group stage. While India muscled their way through to reach the knockouts, New Zealand huffed and puffed their way here. 

India would be looking to settle the score of the heartbreaking loss of the 2019 semifinal when New Zealand showed them the exit gate and NZ skipper Kane Williamson is expecting a ‘fairly blue crowd’ in Wankhede. Here are the possible XI of both teams:

Probable playing XIs:
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

New Zealand: Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson (c), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Tom Latham (wk), Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson

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