In the run up to the World T20 semifinals, much has been talked about New Zealand's unbeaten streak in the Super 10 stages. New Zealand, who are set to take on England in the semifinal at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in Delhi, are keen to maintain their golden run and qualify for the World T20 final for the first time.
Though New Zealand might have been undefeated in the Super 10 stage, England can take inspiration from their warmup victory over the Black Caps in Mumbai, which happens to be New Zealand's only loss after they landed in India for the tournament.
However, New Zealand's story in the competition has been brilliant, with their bowlers playing an important role in the World T20 so far. New Zealand might not be the strongest side on paper, but they have read the conditions wonderfully well, and picked a team accordingly.
Right from the outset, they have been brave, with their opening game against India where they picked three spinners, being the perfect example.
The win against India seems to have given the Black Caps feathers to fly as they have been unstoppable in the World T20 since. Their bowlers, including Ish Sodhi, Mitchell Santner and Mitchell McClenaghan, have been great with the ball, helping them win matches. Santner and Sodhi, with pitches assisting them, have picked nine and eight wickets respectively.
The spinners will, once again, have to deliver against the England batsmen, who have looked good in the competition. With the semifinals set to be played on a fresh track in Delhi, the Black Caps might be prompted to include a pacer, as the surface has some grass. With New Zealand having made wise choices regarding team selection so far, one can expect them to do the same this time around as well.
It seems that the contest is primarily going to take shape between the in-form New Zealand bowlers and the England batsmen.
England's story is different as compared to New Zealand. The English batsmen have been much more successful than their bowlers, barring their game against Afghanistan, where the bowlers did the trick as they defended 142 runs.
Joe Root and Jos Buttler have been their best players, scoring 184 and 123 runs so far, while David Willey has been their star bowler with six wickets.
England have huge depth in their batting lineup, with batsmen like Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid coming in to bat at No. 7 and 8. They have some power-hitters like Buttler and Ben Stokes, who can change the complexion of the game in a matter of overs, and with the likes of Root in the top order, their batting looks good on paper.
The Eoin Morgan-led side resemble a balanced unit, with all departments covered.
In Rashid and Ali, they have spinners capable of troubling the New Zealand batsmen, while Willey will hold the key in the pace department. England might not have been able to dominate matches, but they have somehow found ways to emerge victorious.
None of their victories have been easy peasy. They defeated South Africa, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka by two wickets, 15 runs and 10 runs respectively, but they have showed character to emerge on top. However, England need much more than character to defeat an upbeat New Zealand side.
England should be happy with the venue as they know the ground much better than New Zealand. England defeated Afghanistan and Sri Lanka in Delhi. The English come into this game with three straight wins, while they suffered their only loss of the tournament in their first match to the West Indies, which can be attributed to Chris Gayle's individual brilliance.
Though there are very few cricketers, who can be compared to Gayle, England have to be cautious against New Zealand batsmen like Martin Guptill, Colin Munro and Corey Anderson, who can create a storm of their own with the bat, and dump them out of the competition.
Where to watch live
England vs New Zealand World T20 semifinal is set to begin at 7 p.m. IST ( 1:30 p.m. GMT, 8:30 a.m. ET) Star Sports 1, Star Sports 3, Star Sports HD1and Star Sports HD3will provide live TV coverage for viewers in India and the rest of South Asia. Viewers can also watch England vs New Zealand World T20 semifinal live streaming on Starsports online and Hotstar.
Sky Sports 2 will broadcast England vs New Zealand World T20 semifinal live in the UK , while the live stream option is on Watch Sky Sports.
Viewers in New Zealand can watch England vs New Zealand World T20 semifinal live on Sky Sport and Sky Go NZ.
Audience in South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa will be able to watch England vs New Zealand World T20 semifinal live on SuperSport 2, with the online live stream option SuperSport Live Video.
Audience in the Middle East and North Africa can watch the match live on OSN Sports Cricket and OSN Play.
Fox Sports will show the World T20 2016 match live in Australia, while the live streaming option is on Foxtel.
Willow TV and Willow TV Online are the places to be to watch the England vs New Zealand World T20 semifinal on TV and online in the US and Canada.
