Predicting 3 players who could pick up the most wickets in today’s India vs New Zealand semi-final ft. Kuldeep Yadav

Like many things, the fortunes of India and New Zealand's bowling attacks have changed a lot since they last met in a World Cup semi-final.

In 2019, four of the top 15 wicket-takers were Kiwis and only two Indians. In 2023, four Indians are part of the list while Trent Boult just about manages to accompany Mitchell Santner in the list.

The Indians have hunted like a pack of wolves, especially in the last few matches. New Zealand, on the other hand, due to reasons of injury and form, have looked far from their best. Their pacers haven't fired and a lack of a proper fifth bowling option has meant that their batting has often been needed to bail them out.

The match still feels even, though. It's perhaps the history that deceives or the unpredictability surrounding a knockout.

Against this backdrop, which player could India and New Zealand find a hero in? After considering match-ups and other factors, below we predict three bowlers, who can pick the most wickets today:

#3 Mohammed Shami

The man who took India's bowling attack to another level, Mohammed Shami has been in superb form in the 2023 World Cup. He has 16 wickets from four matches already and New Zealand were the first side to face the wrath of this purple patch.

His breezy five-wicket haul in Dharamshala took out three of the first four Kiwi batters and then a couple from the tail. He bowled well against both new batters and well-set ones and hardly gave any loose deliveries away. It only added to his excellent record against New Zealand, with his overall average now reading 21.93.

Shami has good match-ups against Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, and Tom Latham, and not a bad one against Glenn Phillips too. He has been superb in the powerplay but even better at the death overs which is one of the weak zones for the Blackcaps.

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#2 Trent Boult

You never know, Boult might be saving some of his form for just this match. He hasn't looked at his best yet in the 2023 World Cup. Despite showing good form before the tournament, he hasn't quite gotten his lengths right in the powerplay and a lot of his wickets have come through in the death overs.

But that could change today. He has a stunning match-up against three of India's top-order batters. None of Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Shreyas Iyer average more than 29 against him in ODIs, and all of them average less than 50 against left-arm pacers. Boult also takes a wicket for every 21.1 runs versus right-handers.

Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium (once Boult's home ground in the IPL) has been historically friendly for left-arm seamers too - they average 16.3 average in the powerplay and 24.13 in the middle overs, much better than right-arm pacers.

If he gets even one or two early wickets, Boult could grab a big haul by collecting a few more scalps in the death overs. He also needs to do it for New Zealand for without his contribution the side might be a bit too weak.

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#1 Kuldeep Yadav

The last four matches have been a nice rest for Kuldeep Yadav. The fast bowlers have done so well, that he has rarely been asked to bowl a ball when the team's under pressure. New Zealand would most probably be different.

The pitch at the Wankhede is being reported to be prepared slower than usual. This could mean a good time for the left-arm spinner despite the short boundaries at the ground. For Kuldeep of 2020 that might not have been the case but he has since increased his pace and sharpened his variations which would go well here.

He has a good record against Williamson and Phillips. Plus, most of the Kiwi batting order is made of left-handers, and Kuldeep averages 22.08 against them compared to 26.96 against right-handers in ODIs. This could well be the match where he finally gets a bit more responsibility and revels in it again.