IND vs NZ World Cup: Wankhede – A batters’ paradise but think twice for 2nd innings; check eye-opening record

IND vs NZ: Wankhede is undoubtedly a paradise for the batters. There have been several high-scoring games played at the venue in both the white-ball formats. The venue has hosted four World Cup 2023 games and the India vs New Zealand semfinal is set to be played at this place itself. Spectators have been overwhelmed by the big hits coming their way from the batters at the 22 yards. But there is a twist in the story when a team bats second here for almost one-third part of its innings.

India and New Zealand are gearing up for the 2019 semifinal rematch as the two meet each other for another time in the knockouts. India are coming off a formidable league-stage record of nine wins in a row. On the other hand, the Kiwis have five wins with four losses coming in the last five games themselves. As the two would expect to rain boundaries in the semifinal at Wankhede, a team batting second would need to be aware of some startling record in the initial part of the chase.

What is Wankhede up to in the second innings?

Wankhede has an average first-innings score of 248 in 33 ODIs. With big hitters going all guns blazing in World Cup 2023, it has soared up to 357. But the second innings average goes South and how. In all ODIs, the average chase is 199 and in this World Cup, it is 188. A stark contrast from 357 in the first innings to 188 in the second. 

Also, teams batting second have won only one game here with the batting first teams taking the other three. Runs coming big in the first innings also due to big guns like South Africa and India batting first here. However, with the amount of swing and seam on offer in the first 15 overs here, it becomes a nightmare for the batters, as we have seen with England, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The ball moves for a longer duration under the lights and it becomes a challenge of another level while playing in the second innings in that initial period.

Let’s see the powerplay scores in all four matches of the tournament in the two powerplays. In the first game here in the tournament, South Africa made 59/1 in the first innings, while England were reduced to 67/4. In the South Africa vs Bangladesh game, the former got 44/2 in powerplay while batting first, while the latter scored 35/3. In the third game between India and Sri Lanka, the Indians scored 60/1 in the first innings, while the Lankans were reeling at 14/6. In the only game where the chasing team has won, the AFG vs AUS game, Afghanistan made 46/1 in the first 10 overs, while Australia scored 52/4.

While batting first, there have been five wickets lost for 209 runs in the powerplay, while in the chase, the lost wickets go up to 17 with the score coming down to 168. 

Notably, after the first 15 overs, the ball does not seem to trouble the batters. The batting becomes easy and chasing targets can be accomplished here but wickets in hand would be crucial for that.

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