IND vs NZ Dream11 prediction: 3 differentials you can pick in today’s World Cup 2023 match – Oct 22, 2023

India takes on New Zealand in the 21st match of the 2023 Men's ODI World Cup on Sunday, October 22, at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala.

These two teams are the only unbeaten sides in the tournament, winning all four of their matches. The winner of this clash could well end up topping the points table at the end of the group stage.

New Zealand have beaten England, the Netherlands, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan convincingly. Meanwhile India have trumped the Aussies, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

India has a poor record against the Black Caps in ICC events, and they'll be keen to gain a measure of confidence against them by winning this match. We might get our first thriller of this World Cup when these two sides face off. Let's now look at three Dream11 differentials from this fixture to consider.

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#3 Shardul Thakur (IND)

India looks set to play Shardul Thakur as their fifth bowler to provide the team with extra batting depth in the absence of the injured Hardik Pandya.

Many experts have called for Shardul and Hardik to be replaced by Shami and Suryakumar Yadav to provide better balance to the side. However, Rahul Dravid's press conference on the eve of the match suggests that India will back Shardul to deliver 10 overs ahead of someone like Shami.

While this may not be happy news for lots of fans, Dream11 players should relish this opportunity. That's because Shardul Thakur picks up wickets and it doesn't matter how he does it. He rarely gets to bowl his full quota of overs, and irrespective of how many runs he concedes, he's very likely to pick up 2-3 wickets if he bowls 10 overs, and that makes him a stellar Dream11 differential.

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#2 Suryakumar Yadav (IND)

Suryakumar Yadav is expected to take Hardik Pandya's place in the side despite a late injury scare. SKY should slot in at No. 6 and give India that push in the death overs to chase down a target or set a big one for the Black Caps. While his ODI career took a long time to take off, it eventually did in the three-match ODI series against Australia prior to the World Cup.

He scored back-to-back half-centuries at Mohali and Indore, and it's increasingly looking like delaying his entry and batting him at No. 6 is the recipe for success with SKY in ODIs.

On a good batting surface, SKY has a good chance of making a big score against the NZ death bowling attack that hasn't been tested yet at this World Cup. His ownership will be low due to his lower batting position, but don't let that deter you from taking a punt on this solid Dream11 differential.

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#1 Will Young (NZ)

NZ opener Will Young comes into this match on the back of back-to-back half-centuries and looks in good form. While he initially lost his place in the side on Kane Williamson's return against Bangladesh, he was called upon to open the batting once again versus Afghanistan and timed the ball superbly in his stint at the crease.

Young hasn't had much trouble adapting to the Indian conditions, and has especially been adept at scoring runs straight down the ground. That should serve him well on a venue like Dharamshala, especially considering that he likes to use his feet against the spinners too.

Any opener with low ownership can be a dangerous differential, and Will Young is an in-form one at that. He's certainly worth punting on.