New Zealand have benched star spinner Ish Sodhi in their semi-final clash against South Africa at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Revealing the reason behind the move, captain Mitchell Santner explained that itโs purely strategic as they preferred a pace-bowling all-rounder in James Neesham for Sodhi. Adding to that, Santner mentioned that on Sri Lankan pitches, playing an extra spinner made sense but the conditions at Eden is pretty different and that made them tweak the combination.
โWe’ve got one change from our Colombo game. It’s probably not going to spin as much over as it did over there, so Neesham is back in for Ish (Sodhi),โ Santner said after the toss.
Playing XI of South Africa and New Zealand
New Zealand: Tim Seifert(w), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner(c), Cole McConchie, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson
South Africa: Aiden Markram(c), Quinton de Kock(w), Ryan Rickelton, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi
More to follow..