Invincible India into World Cup final

By Champika Fernando in Mumbai

An invincible India cruised to a 70-run win over New Zealand to place themselves within a single victory of a third World Cup title in a fiercely contested first semifinal which was especially memorable for Virat Kohli, one of the game’s greatest, here at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai yesterday.

India’s win was decorated with Kohli’s masterclass, his 50th ODI ton, a brisk second consecutive ton for Shreyas Iyer, and the brilliance of fiery Mohammad Shami (7-57) that cut short New Zealand’s innings to 327 in 48.5 overs, chasing a mammoth 398.

New Zealand were on the backfoot during the first powerplay of their run-chase where a barrage of outswingers from Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj kept their free-scoring Devon Conwey and Rachin Ravindra in check.

With the change of bowling from the press box end after the fifth over, India reaped success immediately with seamer Mohammad Shami finding the edges of Conway and Ravindra to leave them struggling at 46 for 2 at the end of the first powerplay.

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell kept them in the hunt, sharing an 181-run third wicket stand. But with the run rate climbing and wickets falling, their semifinal hopes faded into Mumbai’s night skies. This was New Zealand’s first defeat against India in a knock-out stage of an ICC tournament.

New Zealand were 199 for 2 at the end of the 30th over with both Williamson and Mitchell threatening to gatecrash India’s party but two quick-wickets--that of Williamson and Tom Latham--within a space of four balls hurt them deeply.

When Shami was introduced for his second spell, he had Williamson flick his first ball straight into the hands of Suryakumar Yadav at deep square leg boundary and then struck with his fourth ball to trap Tom Latham leg-before, putting India right back in the game.

Williamson was earlier dropped by Shami on 52 at mid-on when the ball burst through his hands off the bowling of Jasprit Bumrah. Mitchell (134) battled cramps to fight a lone battle. But even his second consecutive century against India in the tournament could not stop the hosts from sealing a commanding win. With 132 runs needed off the last 10 overs, the writing was on the wall for New Zealand. Mitchell was finally caught at the deep mid-wicket boundary off Shami by Ravindra Jadeja for a well-made 134 with seven sixes and nine boundaries. It was Shami’s fifth wicket and that completed his third fifth wicket haul in the tournament. In his final over Shami removed Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson to record his career-best figures of 7-57 in 9.5 overs and to claim the man-of-the match award.

But it was the night of Kohli—the king of modern day limited over cricket. Having smashed two unbeaten tons against Bangladesh (103*) and South Africa (101*), Kohli was locked on 49 centuries with batting great Sachin Tendulkar before yesterday. Expectation had been high for him to reach the landmark, and he did it in style.

He reached the landmark by running a double after whipping Lockie Ferguson to the deep midwicket. As he completed his second run, Kohli celebrated with a leap and a punch in the air. He then took off his helmet, raised his arms and bowed towards the stands, where his cricketing idol Tendulkar joined thousands of Indians, applauding the feat. The crowd went berserk with chants of “Kohli, Kohli, Kohli” as he bowed in appreciation for the remarkable support from the home crowd. His 50th hundred came only in the 279th innings.
During this knock, Kohli also became the first cricketer to score more than 700 runs in a single tournament, surpassing Tendulkar who had scored 673 runs in the 2003 World Cup. The master batter was involved in a swashbuckling 163 run stand with Iyer in just 128 balls, before being caught at deep square leg off Southee.

He walked off to a standing ovation for a well-made 117 off 113 balls. Though he has been part of four World Cups, this was his first-ever ton in the knockout stage of the Cricket World Cup. With 711 runs, Kohli is the leading run-scorer in the tournament which included five half centuries to go with his three tons.

Iyer ruthlessly continued from where he had left off in their last group game against Netherlands, hitting 105 off 70 eight sixes and four boundaries in his quick-fire century. KL Rahul remained unbeaten on 39 as Indian batters flourished under good batting conditions despite the match being played in a used-up surface.

The hosts put the New Zealand bowlers on a leather hunt after electing to bat first as India reached a formidable 397 for 4 on the back of excellent top order batting,
With the Indians showing their intent early, the Black Caps skipper Williamson turned to his go-to-bowler Mitchell Santner but Sharma left little room for the left-armer to settle in, hitting him for a boundary and a six as India reached 58 at the end of the sixth over. By then, Sharma had made 45 off 22 balls and looked set to go for a big score in a crucial game.

But New Zealand kept rotating their bowlers and managed to put some pressure on both Sharma and Shubman Gill. Southee, who was taken off from the attack after conceding 21 off the first two overs, was reintroduced from the President’s Box End and quickly deceived Sharma with a slower ball to send the partisan Wankhede crowd into silence.

By then, however, Sharma had reached two records. He surpassed Chris Gayle’s most number of sixes in a single World Cup and the highest number of sixes in World Cups. Sharma has hit 27—one more than the West Indians--in this tournament and took his overall tally to 50, when he hit four sixes in his 29-ball 45 knock.

After Sharma’s blitz, Gill started to toy with the New Zealand bowlers as India reached a commanding 150 for 1 at the end of the 20th over, striking at 7.5 runs. The right-handed Gill was cruising smoothly, batting with confidence and control before he retired out on 79 with a cramp, falling prey to the Mumbai heat. The opener had three sixes and eight boundaries in his 65-ball knock and had shared an unbeaten 93 off 86 balls for the second wicket with Virat Kohli. He returned to bat at the fall of Suryakumar Yadav in the final over of their innings. Rahul made an unbeaten 39 to set New Zealand a daunting task.