CWC2023: Semi finals time - Preview & favourites

The ICC ODI World cup 2023 has reached the business end with the two semi finals lined up at Mumbai & Kolkata .  The four best teams have reached the semis and we are in for two absolute blockbuster matches . Let us have a preview how the four semi finalists have shaped up  .

India v New Zealand , Mumbai

Mumbai is hosting the highly awaited India v New Zealand semi final . New Zealand have proved to be a major hurdle over the years , beating India in the semis in 2019 World cup and beating India again in the final of World test Championship in 2021 .

Thus the Indian fans are keeping their fingers crossed for this game. If we compare both teams we find that India has got the more lethal bowling attack with all ths five bowlers performing in such a manner that India so far did not miss the 6th bowler  . Bumrah , Siraj , Shami has moved the ball specially under lights and bowled accurately  while taking powerplay & middle order wickets.   Jadeja & Kuldeep bowled tight lines & picked wickets too . 

Battingwise Rohit Sharma is giving India blistering starts which is helping Gill , Kohli & Iyer to play at their comfortable pace & setting a good platform for the slog beyond 40 overs . 

New Zealand on the other hand has been the best chasing team of this world cup , knocking off England's 282 in 35 overs and almost chased down 388 set by Australia.  Rachin Ravindra has emerged as the new star of this world cup as the southpaw has scored 565 runs already in this event.  Daryl Mitchell strikes the ball violently while Conway & Williamson provides stability. The Kiwis sees to have greater batting depth than India . Bowling wise though they are not as lethal as India but Boult & Southee under lights can be a handful with Furgusion in support and Santner providing very tight overs and picking wickets .

India looks the favourites in first semis and will get huge crowd support but New Zealand is not a team to be taken lightly at all considering their recent past history vs India 

Toss can prove crucial but under lights batting is a double edged sword . It swings a lot in first 10-15 overs and then it gets easier for batting . Hence it's a intriguing decision at the toss but teams do bat first in high pressure games .

 Australia v South Africa , Kolkata 

The second semi final promises to be a mouth watering contest between two teams who have played some epic matches between each other , the best being the 1999 World cup semi final at Egbaston . Eden Gardens has seen some spin in recent world cup games and hence it is possible that both teams play two spinners .

South Africa has looked the team in better form . The batting has been a hit especially when they are setting targets . DeKock with 4 hundreds is one of the highest rungetters in this world cup and the middle order has looked both solid and possessed great firepower with Markram,  Klaasen & Miller destroying bowling attacks and Jansen developing as an allrounder.  The bowling has looked dangerous and even more so under lights when they found swing and seam . Coetzee has been rattling middle orders with his pace and Maharaj providing great control . However South Africa 's weakness has been batting second as they struggled to chase losing to Netherlands and almost losing another to Pakistan when Maharaj rescued them for a 1 wicket win .

Australia has been given great starts by Warner and Marsh as both had magnificent world cups . However the middle order has at times struggled to force the pace or  failing stabilize the innings . Maxwell smashed 2 centuries of which one was an epic knock , singlehandedly winning the game vs Afghanistan with an inspiring 200  in a 292 chase . In bowling too Australia struggled to get powerplay wickets as the famed pace trio of Starc , Hazlewood and Cummins has looked subdued . Zampa along with Maxwell has kept the  bowling together executing more control in middle overs . 

Overall it looks as if South Africa is slightly ahead form wise as their bowling has been more impressive than Australia.  However the Aussies are very experienced in these knockout games and they know how to win . Hence all in all a gripping contest is on the cards at Kolkata .

There are some light rain forecast during the 2nd semis but there is a reserved day for both semis & final .