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As the New Zealand team steps onto the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad for the first match of the World Cup, they will be aiming to avenge their loss to defending champions England in the 2019 World Cup final. That memorable final ended in a tie, and England clinched the title based on the boundary count rule. The New Zealand players have yet to erase the memory of that defeat. Conversely, England, seen as strong contenders for the title, will be eager to launch the tournament with a victory.
England’s initial warm-up match against India ended without any action due to rain. Nonetheless, they managed to get some valuable game time against Bangladesh in the second warm-up game, emerging victorious in the rain-affected contest by four wickets through the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method (DLS method). Meanwhile, New Zealand’s preparations in India began on a strong note, with wins over Pakistan and South Africa in their two warm-up matches, setting a positive tone as they enter the World Cup.
There are six black soil pitches and five red soil pitches at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Seam bowlers tend to get more help on the red soil pitches, while slower bowlers come into play on the black soil pitches as the match grows older. Batters can get good scores if they give themselves time to get settled at the crease. It will be interesting to see which kind of pitch greets the two teams on Thursday. The good news for fans is that the weather forecast looks quite promising with no prediction for rain during the match hours. However, dew could play a big role and captains will need to keep that in mind while making a decision at the toss.
Squads:
England Squad: Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler(w/c), Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Harry Brook, Gus Atkinson, Reece Topley, David Willey
New Zealand Squad: Devon Conway, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Tom Latham(w/c), Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Ish Sodhi, Matt Henry, Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson, Tim Southee, Mitchell Santner, James Neesham
England Probable XI: Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Ben Stokes/Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (c,wk), Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood
New Zealand Probable XI: Devon Conway, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (c,wk), Glenn Phillips, Jimmy Neesham/Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Matt Henry, Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson
