Take a bow, India. Take a bow, Men in Blue. Mohammed Shami, you particularly take a bow for your record-breaking seven-wicket haul and ripping through the strategic Kiwi batting.
Today, the Indian cricket team has shown a dominant display of cricket at its finest, beating New Zealand by 70 runs and making it to the World Cup final! What a win for the same team who lost to New Zealand four years ago by 18 runs. Moreover, it’s incredible really to watch India ‘redo’ the events of 4 years ago in style.
India has played well throughout the tournament. Only a few hours ago, we had put Murphy’s law into perspective, and we wondered, even if anything did go wrong as per the law, it didn’t mean something bad would happen.
After all, if you ensure that only good will happen, then it will. Also, that’s so true for the Indian team today. It was a beautiful match and an even more beautiful victory – let’s check out the highlights of this memorable match.
The Indian Team’s Entry To The 2023 World Cup Final: The Heroes Who Made It Happen!
Mohammed Shami and Virat Kohli now lead the charts for becoming the leading wicket-takers and run-scorers, respectively, in the 2023 World Cup.
While Shami was able to pick his career’s best ODI numbers of 7 wickets for 57 runs, Kohli scored 117 runs for India to destroy the New Zealand cricket team’s chase to the final, setting up a sensational victory for the Indian team.
India was finally able to end the semifinal curse, securing a space in the ODI World Cup final after surviving major scares from Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell, who had managed to keep NZ in the run for a huge run chase.
Today’s win secured a spot for India in the final for the fourth time. India won the much-coveted World Cup for the first time in 1983. The country, its people, and, most importantly, the team had to wait for two whole decades before reaching another World Cup final in 2003.
After a pretty poor campaign by India in 2007, the Indian team became the first nation to host the World Cup and win it in the same year. Yes, we are referring to 2011’s win. Only four years later, India managed to top the group stage. They had an unbeaten run for a long time. However, it all led to a tragic loss to the eventual champions, Australia, in 2015.
In 2019, the Indian team was again so good throughout the tournament before losing to New Zealand in a nail-biting, thrilling semi-final. The match was impacted by the rain, going on for two whole days.
But this World Cup, India seems to be ruthless. So far, they have been invincible in the group stage with massive victories over Sri Lanka, Australia, Pakistan, New Zealand, South Africa, England, Bangladesh, the Netherlands, and Afghanistan.
Daredevil Daryl’s Brave Efforts:
New Zealand was on the lookout for a frantic beginning to what could have been a record-breaking run chase. Earlier in the tournament, NZ had gotten very close to Australia’s iconic 388. India knew the Black Caps possessed the firepower to chase 398 on a great cricket pitch.
Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah didn’t look very threatening today, as compared to their other appearances in the tournament. Rohit Sharma immediately turned to the ace up his sleeve, Mohammed Shami. And Shami clearly didn’t disappoint. In his first two overs, Shami was able to pick up two wickets, removing New Zealand’s opening duo Rachin Ravindra and Devon Conway.
The onus was literally on Daryl Mitchell and Kane Williamson to steer NZ, keeping the team afloat against India’s top-quality bowling attack. The journey might have been difficult, but the plan was clear for NZ. They wanted to be in a comfy situation by the thirtieth over before using the middle-order muscle to chase the remaining target in the last twenty overs.
Mitchell and Williamson executed a fair percentage of this plan, with NZ scoring 199 runs for just 2 wickets by the 30th over.
A Little More On Daryl Mitchell:
Remember how Daryl Mitchell was able to score a century in the group stage against India, slowing down with the beacon in his view at Dharamsala before Shami made a final appearance to rock the remaining batting line-up. Something very similar happened today, though Mitchell never actually got off the accelerator.
For the very first time in World Cup 2023, India’s bowlers faced some amount of pressure. Siraj and Bumrah were expensive, and honestly, their usual sting was a little off today. But it was the relentless Shami who dismissed Tom Latham and Kane Williamson in the very same over.
From there, NZ tried to do well and stay afloat. But it was obvious that the situation was gradually going out of control. Glenn Phillips did well, scoring 41 runs for 33 balls. But then India was unstoppable as they immediately bounced back with 2 more wickets. All while Kuldeep Yadav was able to dismiss Mark Chapman, Bumrah picked Phillips.
But the star was Shami, and he wasn’t done yet. In Shami’s penultimate over, he took Mitchell, picking his 3rd 5-wicket haul of the tournament with India reaching the final.
Virat Kohli And Rohit Sharma’s Electrifying Performance:
Virat Kohli selected the ideal stage to reach his ODI hundred number 50! World Cup semifinal. The Wankhede Stadium. Sachin Tendulkar in the stands.
At the beginning of November, Kohli could have reached Tendulkar’s record of having the most number of ODI 100s, and that too at the same venue.
But he got out at 88 runs in the match against Sri Lanka. However, the missed opportunity against Sri Lanka only paved the way for Kohli to equal Master Blaster’s target on his birthday at the Eden Gardens.
After Rohit Sharma set the tone once against for the Indian innings with a brave 47, Kohli didn’t put a foot wrong today. The Indian captain has been in a pretty destructive mood so far. And in this must-win match, he made it his responsibility to give India an electrifying beginning.
The Wankhede Stadium has witnessed teams piling up massive scores. And, of course, Sharma didn’t hesitate to choose batting after winning the toss. Inspire of India’s star-studded line-up of bowlers, Sharma was aware of the importance of a huge total in a high-pressure match.
Sharma was absolutely ruthless against Tim Southee and Trent Boult. Even the typically calm Willamson appeared to be clueless as the Indian team raced away in the very first innings.
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