India vs New Zealand could provide all the answers we need about the Cricket World Cup's unbeaten two

New Zealand unbeaten in three so far.
PA

If – and it looks a rather large if – the weather decides to play ball, we could be in for the most informative match of this Cricket World Cup so far, at Trent Bridge on Thursday.

The competition’s two remaining unbeaten sides, India and New Zealand, go head-to-head in Nottingham, in a clash that has the potential to answer several of the key questions that linger about both sides, in spite of their impressive starts.

In New Zealand’s case, the doubts are simple. Three victories from three matches have put the Black Caps halfway to securing a top four finish and a place in the semi-finals, but they have come (despite South Africa’s attempts to prove otherwise) against surely the three weakest teams in the tournament - Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

They have had the luxury of chasing low scores in all three games, against sides failing to bat out their full complement of overs, and the 558 runs they have scored to earn their six points is fewer than India have had to rack up in earning four.

In Pictures | India vs Australia | 09/06/19

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That is of course no fault of their own - and the round robin format of this tournament means that somewhere down the line things will even out – but it makes it a little more difficult to assess the form of their star batsmen, who are yet to be asked to put a big score on the board, or chase a sizeable total.

Colin Munro, Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor have all passed the 100-run mark for the tournament, with Martin Guptill just a couple shy, but we’ll find out more about what kind of nick they’re in when they take on Jasprit Bumrah & Co.

Coming into the tournament, the theory about how to beat India was that if you could get rid of the top three – Rohit Sharman, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli – then you might be in the money.

Munro and WIlliamson have passed the 100-run mark for the tournament
AFP/Getty Images

As the first two games have shown, that’s easier said than done. They were 348/5, with one ball left of the innings, by the time Australia had all three back in the hutch, while South Africa didn’t manage it at all, with Sharma finishing 122* as they chased 227 with 15 balls to spare.

However, the thumb injury which has ruled Dhawan out of this match, and may yet end his tournament, will increase the pressure on Kohli and Sharma and, should they fail, force the likes of Hardik Pandya and MS Dhoni to play a different kind of innings to the destructive ball hitting they’ve displayed so far.

At The Oval, the Indians were happy to sit in against an Aussie attack front-loaded with the new ball pace of Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins, knowing they would dispatch the likes of Adam Zampa and Marcus Stoinis at more than eight-an-over later on.

New Zealand, however, have a bowling attack that is considerably deeper than anything India have faced so far, to the extent that Tim Southee’s absence has barely been noticed, and he is unlikely to play despite being fit enough to return.

James Neesham, Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson have 21 wickets between them, while star man Trent Boult has been economical and will surely be rewarded with more wickets soon.

In other words, if the likes of Kohli and Sharma do not survive deep into the innings, the Indian middle order that was the topic of much debate coming here should be given its first proper test.

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