ENG vs NZ Dream11 prediction: 3 differentials you can pick in today's 2023 World Cup match - 5th Oct, 2023

The 2023 World Cup will get underway with a match between England and New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Thursday, October 5. It is a rematch of the last edition's final, where England beat New Zealand based on the boundary count.

The two teams played a World Cup Final for the ages at the Lord's Cricket Ground in 2019, where the 50-over match and the subsequent Super Over contest ended in a tie. Since England hit more fours and sixes than the Kiwis, the Eoin Morgan-led outfit became the champions.

Morgan has since retired and Jos Buttler is the England captain now. Meanwhile, Kane Williamson is still New Zealand's captain, but he will miss the first match owing to an injury. Tom Latham will lead the Blackcaps in his absence.

Buttler and Latham will hold the key to success for their respective teams. Both squads are full of match-winners, and here's a look at the three such players who can prove to be differentials in your Dream11 teams.

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#1 Joe Root, England

All eyes will be on Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler in England's batting lineup, but Joe Root can end up scoring the most runs for the defending champions in this match.

Root has a lot of experience of playing in the Indian conditions. The right-handed batter also has a fantastic record against New Zealand in ODIs. He has scored 971 runs in 25 innings against the Blackcaps. His highest score against New Zealand is 106*, while his batting average is close to 47.

Considering that the pitch in Ahmedabad will be good for batting, Root can score big for the England team. Notably, he also has a five-wicket haul in a Test match played at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

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#2 Devon Conway, New Zealand

Devon Conway has played only 22 matches in his ODI career, but he already has three half-centuries and four centuries to his name. Conway starred in the Chennai Super Kings' Indian Premier League (IPL) championship win on Indian soil earlier this year.

Apart from that, the southpaw also recorded his career-best score of 138 in an ODI match against India in India eight months ago. Conway understands the Indian conditions well. He has played a few games at the Narendra Modi Stadium. If he gets going, he can set a new record for his career-best ODI score.

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#3 Ish Sodhi, New Zealand

Indian-origin leg-spinner Ish Sodhi is not a regular player in the IPL, but he has great knowledge about the Indian conditions. Sodhi performed brilliantly in the T20 World Cup 2016, which was the last ICC event to be played on Indian soil.

The New Zealand leg-spinner can trouble the England batters with his leg-spin bowling in the World Cup match. The likes of Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad achieved a lot of success in Ahmedabad during the IPL season played earlier this year.

Sodhi can emerge as the top wicket-taker in the England vs New Zealand World Cup 2023 match today if he executes his plans well. For the record, Sodhi has picked up 10 wickets in just four ODIs against England before the World Cup.