ICC CWC'19: Michael Clarke predicts winner of IND-NZ semi-final clash

Mumbai: Former Australia captain Michael Clarke has stated that India are the favourites to win against New Zealand in the semi-finals of ICC World Cup 2019.

India have finished on top of the points table, winning seven out of eight league matches of the tournament. On the other hand, the Kiwis finished on the fourth place by winning five out of their nine league matches.

Both India and New Zealand will be looking forward to booking a spot at Lord's in the final of the mega-event.

“No-brainer for me, India is in the final. In cricket you should never say that, if I was an Indian player I wouldn’t be thinking like that or if I was Virat Kohli I wouldn’t be thinking like that,” Clarke told India Today about the encounter.

“But from outside, India is on fire they are playing unbelievable cricket at the moment and in my opinion they already have one foot in the final,” he added.

However, Clarke also mentioned that India cannot afford to take anything for granted and their main objective should be to play consistent and hard cricket.

“New Zealand at the moment are really low on confidence because of their most recent performances. That is what is going to make the game so hard against India. India are flying with confidence because of their most recent performances,” said Clarke.

The former Australian captain also lauded Rohit Sharma for his sublime form in the World Cup. Clarke considers Sharma as a key player for Team India's success.

“At the moment no one vs Rohit. He is in a different league, how do you get him out? He is a batting genius at the moment, he’s been the batsman of the tournament. Him and David Warner have been the two standouts for me,” Clarke said.