Mumbai: India defeated New Zealand by 70 runs in their semi-final to reach ODI World Cup final for the fourth time. Driven by Virat Kohli’s record breaking 50th ODI hundred, India put up a total of 397/4.
Mohammad Shami’s seven wickets haul helped India to dismiss New Zealand for 327. It’s India’s first ever win against New Zealand in an ICC knockout match.
After a scare from Daryl Mitchell and Kane Williamson, who had kept New Zealand in the hunt for a huge run chase, India were ultimately able to break the semifinal jinx and secure a berth in an ODI World Cup final. India is going to play in its fourth World Cup final. They had to wait 20 years to make it to another World Cup final after winninog the previous one in 1983.
India has played a brutal World Cup. With wins over Australia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, New Zealand, England, Sri Lanka, South Africa, and the Netherlands, they went undefeated in the group stage.
A frantic start was necessary for New Zealand in what would have been a record run chase. Earlier in the tournament, they had nearly matched Australia’s 388, and India felt they had the strength to threaten 398 on a top-notch cricket ground. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj didn’t appear to be as formidable as they had been at the World Cup, so Rohit Sharma went to Mohammed Shami, his secret weapon. Shami did not let us down either. Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra, the New Zealand openers, were removed by him after he claimed two wickets in his opening two overs.
It was up to Daryl Mitchell and Kane Williamson to lead and sustain New Zealand in the face of an elite Indian bowling assault. Although things were difficult, there was a clear plan for New Zealand. By the thirty-first over, they hoped to settle into a comfortable position, and in the final twenty overs, they would use the middle-order players’ strength to chase down any remaining target. After 30 overs of pursuit, Williamson and Mitchell were able to carry out a good portion of that plan, as New Zealand reached 199 for 2.
After reaching a century in their group encounter against India, Daryl Mitchell slowed down in Dharamsala, but Mohammed Shami returned for a last over and completely changed the dynamics of the Indian batting lineup. Mitchell never let up on the accelerator, but something similar happened again. The bowlers from India were under pressure for the first time throughout the tournament. Even though Siraj and Bumrah were costly and lost some of their bite, the unrelenting Shami returned for his third stint and dismissed Tom Latham and Kane Williamson in the same over. From that point on, New Zealand managed to survive, but it was evident that the situation was spiralling out of control. Despite Glenn Phillips’ impressive performance (41 off 33 balls), India recovered with two more swift wickets: Bumrah removed Phillips, and Kuldeep Yadav removed Mark Chapman.
Mohammed Shami was far from finished. As India neared a World Cup final, he took out Daryl Mitchell in his penultimate over to record his third five-wicket haul of the competition.
With the greatest platform on which to perform flawlessly, Shami finished with the highest figures of any Indian bowler in an ODI match—seven wickets.Virat Kohli picked the ideal moment to reach ODI hundred number fifty. The Stadium at Wankhede. The World Cup quarterfinal. From the stands, Sachin Tendulkar was observing. At the same location earlier in November, Kohli had the opportunity to tie Tendulkar’s record for the most ODI hundreds, but he was removed for 88 against Sri Lanka. On his birthday at Eden Gardens, Kohli, however, met the Master Blaster head-to-head because to that lost opportunity.
On Wednesday, Rohit Sharma once again set the tone for India’s innings with a brilliant 47, and Virat Kohli did not make a mistake. This World Cup, the Indian captain has been extremely destructive. In a game that the team had to win, he decided to electrify the crowd. After winning the toss, Rohit did not think twice to bat first at the Wankhede Stadium, where teams have been amassing huge totals. He was aware of the significance of a high total in a high-stakes game, even with India’s elite bowling lineup. India dominated the first innings thanks to Rohit Sharma’s brutality against Tim Southee and Trent Boult, and even the composed Kane Williamson appeared to be at a loss for words.
But Virat Kohli’s hundreds total has long been the centre of attention. Could he reach position 50? When he did, it was a perfect century. Just as he has done throughout his career, Kohli precisely paced the innings. He had a calm beginning but ran hard and showed brilliant stroke-play to come within a hair’s breadth of a remarkable hundred. After reaching the landmark, Kohli removed his helmet and bowed to his hero, who then led a standing ovation at his home field. It was Kohli’s greatest score in a World Cup match when he fell for 117. By then, he had not only surpassed Tendulkar’s record for ODI hundreds, but he had also surpassed Ricky Ponting to become the first cricket player to surpass 700 runs in a single World Cup.
Virat Kohli’s dismissal was the cue for Shreyas Iyer to accelerate further and in no time, he had raced away to a hundred he would remember for a long time
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