ICC CWC 2019 Match 18: Ind vs NZ match called off; both teams split point
In the 18th match of ICC World Cup 2019, inclement weather and wet outfield resulted in the match between India cricket team and New Zealand cricket team being called off at Trent Bridge
 "India vs New Zealand, Trent Bridge Stadium, Nottingham")
India vs New Zealand at Trent Bridge Stadium in Nottingham. Photo: @BCCI
India team management not to lose 'precious' player like Dhawan
Bangar also said that they do not want to rush things as they do not want to rule out a 'precious' player Dhawan.
"We will be observing him (Dhawan) and probably it will take some time around 10th or 12th day we will get to know where he stands and post that we will be in a better position to take a call because you do not really want to rule out a precious player like Shikhar. So we would like to wait and assess him," Bangar said.
So far, three matches have been abandoned due to rain in this World Cup and while talking about the weather in England, Bangar said: "Generally, when you come to England, you except these things where you know that you are bound to get few days where the weather is going to play a spoilsport but from our point of view, so far we have been lucky that they have not had a game affected by the weather."
Dhawan will be assessed for 10-12 days: Sanjay Bangar
K L Rahul will open along with Rohit Sharma for india in the match against New Zealand on Thursday in Trent Bridge in the ICC World Cup cricket even as the team management said it would like to assess Shikhar Dhawan's injury for 10 to 12 days before calling for replacement.
The vacant spot may be filled by Vijay Shankar in the match against New Zealand, India batting coach Sanjuay Bangar told the pre-match media conference.
"As far as batting order goes, KL Rahul moves up at the top of the order and there are various options that the team management can utilise going into the next game. Obviously, Vijay Shankar is going to be an option and there are a couple of others as well," he said.
"Around 10 or 12 days, we will be taking a call on the status of Shikhar and till that point, just to make sure that, if and when the replacement is required, then it is always good to have a replacement player coming in and practicing with the team as a standby," Bangar said.
Want KL to be versatile ODI player like Dravid: Bangar
If KL Rahul could adjust to opening the batting in the absence of Shikhar Dhawan, it will provide much-needed balance to the side, says assistant coach Sanjay Bangar, citing history when Rahul Dravid excelled in a similar role.
Rahul Dravid's versatility as a keeper and a floater under Sourav Ganguly's captaincy helped India maintain balance in ODIs which is exactly what Bangar expects from Rahul in the current limited overs set-up.
Rahul, who was supposed to fill-up the contentious No 4 slot and did a decent job against South Africa in bowler-friendly conditions, will now open with Rohit Sharma against New Zealand on Thursday.
"The advantages of playing in various situations, is that you understand the game a lot better. If you are batting in the middle order and suddenly you go and bat in the top order, then you know how challenging it can be, wherein you need to negotiate two new balls but you also understand that there are all these boundary opportunities," Bangar said when asked how challenging it is to suddenly open the innings.
"So if a player is able to do that -- and if you look across the history of the game, players have been very versatile, and here if you take (example of) his namesake Rahul Dravid back at the various positions, actually, it helped the team big time," Bangar said.
Ross Taylor's take on New Zealand performance so far in ICC CWC
Taylor is happy with this team's performance in the premier tournament so far but still think that the tournament is in its initial stages.
"It is still early on and I think all the nine teams, realistically seven teams are still in the hunt. First and foremost you have to the semi-finals regardless of whether you are top-seed or fourth-seed and you are just two wins away from lifting that cup. We are three from three and we are very happy but we know we got some bigger challenges ahead of us in the next couple of weeks," he said.
Shikhar Dhawan is a big loss to India: Ross Taylor ahead of clash
Batsman Shikhar Dhawan's absence will be a big loss to the Indian side, New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor said on Wednesday.
"Shikhar is a big loss to India. The present team plays very well at the ICC tournaments and he has a very good record over here. Rohit Sharma and Dhawan complement each other very well because of right and left hand combination," Taylor said during a press conference here on Wednesday ahead of his team's match against India on Thursday.
Replacement or cover? Selectors and team management differed on Pant's status
The selection committee and the team management were not on the same page over Rishabh Pant joining India's World Cup squad as "cover" for the injured Shikhar Dhawan, it has been learnt.
It has emerged that the team management was never keen on any replacement, including Pant, instead hoping for Shikhar Dhawan to get fit for the business end of the tournament.
Chances of Dhawan attaining match fitness, however, look grim at the moment. The team management is looking up to the cases where athletes have recovered quicker than expected.
On the eve of the match against New Zealand, assistant coach Sanjay Bangar said that Dhawan is so "precious" that skipper Virat Kohli and head coach Ravi Shastri are willing to wait even if the opener is fit for the last league game against Sri Lanka on July 6.
The three selectors chairman MSK Prasad, Devang Gandhi and Sarandeep Singh -- are currently in England and "wanted to announce a replacement straightaway".
"... But the team management seemed against the idea as a replacement would have meant that Dhawan would practically have no chance of making it if India goes into the semi-finals. Look at his hands. It's plastered and things are not great," a BCCI source, privy to the development, told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
KL Rahul record as opener
Rahul is no stranger to opening the batting, but the last time he did so was in January 2017.
He opened in each of his first six ODIs -- against Zimbabwe and England -- but was earmarked as the solution at number four after a warm-up century against Bangladesh in Cardiff.
India's approach to the first powerplay since the 2015 World Cup has been conservative, with no side scoring slower than their 3.5 runs per over in the tournament thus far.
Despite Dhawan's absence, it seems their approach won't waver as Bangar encouraged Rahul to continue to show caution, starting against New Zealand at Trent Bridge on Thursday.
"The batsmen have to be a bit circumspect when the conditions are cloudy and there are two new balls. You always want your top bowler to show discipline and put the team in a great position because if you're in a good spot at the end of 10 or 15 overs, the seam tends to soften up.
"From that point of view, it's always a good strategy. Every opening batsman would like to have that sort of strategy, where if the conditions are challenging, you always want to give the bowlers the respect at times," Bangar said.
Will wait on Dhawan, Rahul to open: Sanjay Bangar
India's assistant coach Sanjay Bangar said the team management does not want to rule out injured opener Shikhar Dhawan just as yet, because he is too "precious", adding that KL Rahul will open the batting in his absence.
"We will take at least 10-12 days to take a call on Shikhar's condition. We don't want to rule out a precious player like him," Bangar told the media on the eve of India's third World Cup clash against New Zealand.
Dhawan suffered the injury after being hit by a Pat Cummins delivery during his 109-ball 117 knock against Australia. While the X-ray didn't show any fracture, CT scan revealed otherwise and Dhawan was taken to a specialist for further assessment.
Pant, who was initially ignored for Dinesh Karthik when the 15-member squad was picked, has been named as his standby and is expected to fly in to England as cover.
Here are the squad of both the teams
New Zealand world cup: Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Trent Boult, Martin Guptill, Colin de Grandhomme, Colin Munro, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tom Bundell, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi
Preview
After defeating Sri Lanka by 10 wickets in their tournament opener, the Kiwis didn't put their foot off the peddle and registered comprehensive victories against Bangladesh and Afghanistan in their next fixture. On the other hand, India have also played like tournament favourites and have registered reaffirming wins over South Africa and Australia. However, they would be wary off the fact that they had to be at their absolute best against Kane Williamson's side which defeated them quite convincingly in the warm-up fixture.
In that warm-up game, the Indian batsmen seemed to have no clue against the pace and swing from Trent Boult and other Kiwi pacers and were bundled out for mere 179 which the Black Caps chased down with ease at the Kennington Oval in London. As Shikhar Dhawan is out for the game, the Men in Blue will hope that KL Rahul -- who in all likelihood, will open the innings alongside Rohit Sharma - gives them a solid start and lay the foundation for the upcoming batsmen to score big and go full throttle against the New Zealand bowlers.
Also, it will be interesting to see whom they include in place of Dhawan. Either they can include Dinesh Karthik to strengthen their batting or they can go with either Ravindra Jadeja or Vijay Shanker who give them a bowling option too. However, one thing which both teams would be looking at is the weather in Nottingham. The weather forecast is not good for Thursday and there are high chances that rain may play spoilsport in the game.
The pitch at Trent Bridge is easily one of the best batting wickets in the country but the overcast conditions would definitely assist the fast bowlers. So, far the two teams have met seven times in all World Cup editions and New Zealand hold an edge of 4-3 against India. Thus, Virat Kohli would be looking to better that record.
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First Published: Jun 13 2019 | 11:38 AM IST
