I'm pretty hyped for this game
Really could see it going several ways.On the one hand - if it's cloudy and there is rain about, India should bowl first and hope to rip apart NZ with the new ball before seeing off a DLS chase. Remember how gun Kohli is at chasing? We haven't really seen that side of him this WC yet. Plus if we do bowl NZ out cheaply and need around 4-5 RPO to win, MSD suddenly becomes useful again.
But this has been a WC for batting first, and India have done well defending scores too. If we bat first and Rohit comes off again, we're basically set to make the finals. No way this NZ side chases 300 or a 6-7 RPO DLS chase vs our bowling attack.
Speaking of the bowling attack - starting to think that we should go in with three seamers + Pandya + one of Kuldeep/Jadeja, Attack with the quick bowlers, use the spinner to hold things up. Chahal has taken wickets but gone for runs. Kuldeep probably a better bet to keep things quiet than Jaddu (and will nick a wicket or two in the process), but then Jadeja adds some much needed fire to the lower order.
Batting wise I think Pant is locked in at 4, and either we stick with Karthik at 6 or drop him for Jadhav. I don't want anything funky like Mayank opening, Lokesh 4, Pant 6 at this stage of the WC. No matter how tempting it sounds. We need some stability, and in pressure games, having more cake in the middle order is better than more icing.