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CricBattle Daily Fantasy Cricket League Tips

India vs New Zealand on July 9

After some riveting encounters in the main round, the 2019 World Cup, the stage is now set for the semi-finals. The first of them is scheduled to be played tomorrow between India and New Zealand at the Old Trafford in Manchester. It’s a venue where all the five games went in favor of the team, batting first and hence, the toss could play an important factor in deciding the result of the crunch encounter. The Kiwis are coming into the game on the back of three back-to-back defeats at the hands of Pakistan, England and Australia respectively. The Men in Blue, on the contrary, finished on top of the table with 15 points from nine matches. Barring their 31-run stutter against the Three Lions, Virat Kohli & Co. haven’t done much wrong and would be looking to book a berth for Finals Day on July 14.

Best economical pick – KL Rahul has shouldered the responsibility of opening the batting pretty efficiently. The Karnataka batsman has notched 360 runs at an average of 51.42. In the first few games, he got starts, but couldn’t convert them. But in the last game, he turned up with a sparkling knock of 111 and it would’ve done his confidence a world of good.

Top captains & vice captains – Rohit Sharma is currently in the middle of a purple patch, having scored 647 runs in eight matches at an average of 98.77. The 32-year-old racked up three tons in a row and is the only batsman with five centuries in a single edition of the World Cup. The right-hander has peaked at the right time in the tournament and would wish to carry on with his awe-inspiring run of form. One of the very reasons why the Kiwis are in the semis is Kane Williamson. Most of the times, he came in after the openers failed and he bailed his team out of jail. It’s not a surprise that he is their leading run-scorer with 481 runs in eight games at 96.20. He’ll be looking to increase his strike-rate, which is currently at 77.20.

Smart pick – Virat Kohli hasn’t been outstanding by any means, but he has done his job with precision. At a decent average of 63.14, Virat has racked up 442 runs in eight matches with the top score of 82 versus Australia. The 30-year-old has five 50-plus scores and has steadied the ship more often than not in the middle order.

Cautions Pick – New Zealand’s highest ranked batsmen in ODIs, Ross Taylor has struggled to come up with meaningful contributions in their last three games. With a lot of players already out of form, Kane Williamson would be devastated if Taylor departs quickly and at this point in time.

My XI – Rohit Sharma (Captain), Kane Williamson (Vice-Captain), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Mohammed Shami, Lockie Ferguson, Jasprit Bumrah, Colin de Grandhomme, Tom Latham, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik