Cricket World Cup: India v New Zealand betting preview, free tips and TV details

TV: Sky Sports Cricket & Main Event, 10.30am Tuesday

Old Trafford, Manchester

India's path to a third Cricket World Cup title was made smoother by Australia's defeat to South Africa on Saturday and Virat Kohli's men are no bigger than 4-11 to beat New Zealand in the first semi-final at Old Trafford.

The Aussies, who slipped to second in the table, face England at Edgbaston on Thursday leaving India an easier assignment against a Black Caps side who stumbled into the last four.

The Kiwis lost their last three league games, to Pakistan, Australia and England, and their unconvincing batting unit face a serious examination from India's bowlers.

Kohli's side won January's ODI series in New Zealand 4-1 and they should frank that form and qualify for Sunday's final at Lord's.

Best bets
Kohli rarely plays second fiddle to anyone but Rohit Sharma's outstanding form means he is now favourite, ahead of his skipper, to be top India runscorer.

Sharma scored an astonishing five centuries in eight innings during the group stage, including three in his last three outings and a brilliant 140 against Pakistan at Old Trafford.

There is a sense that India's hard-hitting middle-order could be vulnerable but opposing teams struggle to get through a top three of Sharma, Lokesh Rahul – who also scored a century against Sri Lanka last time out – and Kohli.

India are 8-11 to outscore New Zealand over the first 15 overs and that is well worth a bet given the dismal starts made by the Kiwi openers.

Martin Guptill began the tournament with an unbeaten 73 against the Lankans before scores of 25, nought, 35, nought, five, 20 and eight. Colin Munro was dropped after a similarly poor run but his replacement Henry Nicholls made eight against Australia and a first-ball duck against England.

Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar rarely give much away with the new ball and New Zealand could find themselves up against it in the early stages of their innings.

The Kiwis have a high-class new-ball threat of their own in Trent Boult and the left-armer can pick up the two wickets required to pass bet365's performance line of 39.5.

Boult claimed 4-30 in the win over the West Indies in Manchester, where he also took crucial catches (worth ten points each on the performance market) to dismiss Chris Gayle and century-maker Carlos Brathwaite.

He bowled well in the defeats to Australia, taking 4-51, and England (2-56), having dismissed Sharma, Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan on his way to figures of 4-30 in the warm-up win over India.

Kane Williamson is a worthy favourite to be top New Zealand runscorer. The only game in which he has failed to reach 40 was his last outing against England when he was unfortunate to be run out for 27 at the non-striker's end.

At the prices, though, Tom Latham merits a small bet. The wicketkeeper is 10-1 – a decent price for a number-five batsman who scored a fluent 57 against England last time out when none of his teammates reached 30.

Recommendations
India to have higher score in first 15 overs
3pts 8-11 Coral, Ladbrokes
T Boult over 39.5 performance points
3pts 10-11 bet365
T Latham top New Zealand runscorer
1pt 10-1 Coral, Hills, Ladbrokes

Team news
India
Shami and Kumar are probably vying for one place in the 11. Spinner Ravindra Jadeja played the final league game against Sri Lanka but Yuzvendra Chahal could replace him for the semi.

New Zealand
Fast bowler Lockie Ferguson should return after missing the England defeat with a hamstring strain.

Venue
All five World Cup games held at Old Trafford have been won by the team batting first, with scores of 336, 397, 291, 268 and 325.

India won both their matches in Manchester, thumping Pakistan by 89 runs and the West Indies by 125 runs, while the Kiwis survived a huge scare to beat the Windies by five runs.

Weather
Overcast start to the day with light rain forecast for the afternoon, 17C.

Team lowdowns

India
Strengths
Virat Kohli has the pace and spin bowlers to attack whatever the conditions and opener Rohit Sharma is in sensational touch after five centuries in eight innings.

Weaknesses
There are doubts over the balance of the middle-order batting although the form of Sharma and Kohli means they are rarely under serious pressure.

Key player
Jasprit Bumrah seems to deliver whenever his captain needs a wicket – whether it’s with the new ball, in the middle overs or at the death, when his yorkers are virtually impossible to score off.

New Zealand
Strengths
New Zealand’s seam bowlers are almost always a handful and their defeat to England was the first time in 14 ODIs that they had conceded 300.

Weaknesses
The Kiwi openers started the World Cup with an unbroken stand of 137 against Sri Lanka but have struggled to lay a foundation since. In their next seven games their first wicket has fallen at 35, nought, 12, nought, five, 29 and two.

Key player
Kane Williamson has scored 481 runs – 220 more than any of his teammates – and the classy captain must hold together a brittle batting unit.

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