A five-wicket haul by Mohammed Shami and another
masterclass by chase master Virat Kohli guided Bharat to a four-wicket win over
New Zealand in their ICC Cricket World Cup match at Dharamshala on Sunday.
With this win, Bharat has its fifth successive win and
is at the top of the table with 10 points. NZ is at number two now with four
wins and a loss, totalling to eight points.
In the chase of 274 runs, Bharat was off to a flying
start as skipper Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill were dealing in fours and sixes.
The horrors of a terrible top-order start in the 2019 World Cup semifinals were
being washed away with every shot they played.
Bharat reached the 50-run mark in 7.4 overs, with the
help of a crisp boundary by Gill on a delivery by Matt Henry.
The 71-run opening stand came to an end as Lockie
Ferguson castled Rohit for 46 in 40 balls, with four boundaries and four sixes.
India was 71/1 in 11.1 overs.
Gill was the next one to be dismissed by Ferguson as
he was caught by Daryl Mitchell for 26 off 31 balls, with five fours. India was
76/2 in 13.2 overs.
The new pair on the crease was of Virat Kohli, the
centurion against Bangladesh and Shreyas Iyer.
The duo rebuilt the Indian innings, bringing up the
100-run mark in 15.4 overs. Iyer was playing with some positive intent,
smashing Mitchell Santner and Ferguson for some boundaries. Even Virat was
smashing boundaries after settling himself.
Iyer-Kohli reached their 50-run partnership in 45
balls. The partnership was cut short soon after Iyer fell prey to another short
delivery by Trent Boult for 33 off 29 balls, with six fours. Bharat was 128/3
in 21.3 overs.
KL Rahul and Virat partnership took Bharat to the
150-run mark in 27.5 overs. However, KL was trapped leg-before wicket by
Mitchell Santner for 27 off 35 balls, with three fours. India was 182/4 in 32.1
overs.
Suryakumar Yadav was the next one to be run out just
for two runs. Bharat was 191/5 in 33.5 overs. Ravindra Jadeja took Bharat past
200 in 35.4 overs. Jadeja and Virat hit some pressure-relieving boundaries.
Men in Blue were 250 runs up in 45.2 overs.
Bharat needed seven in the final three overs, with
Virat just eight runs from his 49th ODI century, that would help him equal the
record of great Sachin Tendulkar.
However, he was caught by Glenn Phillips on a ball by
Matt Henry. Virat fell for 95 in 104 balls, with eight fours and two sixes.
India was 269/6 in 47.4 overs.
Jadeja sealed the deal with a winning four, ending at
39*, with Shami (1*) unbeaten at the other end. Bharat won the match by four
wickets with two overs to spare.
Ferguson (2/63) was the pick of the bowlers for NZ.
Santner, Boult and Henry got a wicket each.
Earlier, New Zealand batsman Daryl Mitchell’s stellar
maiden hundred at the ODI World Cup took the Kiwis to 273 in the first inning
against Bharat in the 21st match of the tournament at Himachal Pradesh Cricket
Association Stadium in Dharamsala on Sunday.
Ahead of the game, Rohit Sharma-led Men in Blue won
the toss and decided to field first against Tom Latham’s New Zealand on Sunday.
Kiwi openers Devon Conway and Will Young failed to
make a solid opening. Mohammed Siraj made the first breakthrough after he
dismissed Conway for a duck in the 3.3 overs (NZ 9-1).
Mohammed Shami made a stunning comeback to the ODI
World Cup 2023 and picked a wicket in his first ball of the ongoing tournament
after he dismissed Will Young for 17 runs (NZ 19-2).
However, Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell made a
solid partnership and helped to cross the 100-run mark in 20.5 overs after
playing 125 balls.
Shami dismissed Ravindra in the 33.3 overs for 75 runs
and broke the partnership (NZ 178-3).
The Kiwis crossed the 200-run mark in the 36.1 over
after playing 217 balls.
Kuldeep Yadav picked his first wicket of the game
after dismissing Tom Latham for five runs in the 36.5 overs (NZ 205-4).
Yadav took his second wicket after dismissing Glenn
Phillips for 23 runs in the 44.2 overs (NZ 243-5).
In the 46.6 overs, Mark Chapman was dismissed by
Jasprit Bumrah for 6 runs (NZ 257-6).
However, Mohammed Shami picked up two consecutive
wickets and dismissed Mitchell Santner and Matt Henry in the 47.4 and 47.5
overs (NZ 260-8).
Shami picked up the most important wicket in the first
inning after he dismissed Mitchell in the 49.5 overs for 130 runs (NZ 273-9).
In the third powerplay, Bharat was on fire with the
ball and picked up six wickets. While the Kiwis scored 54 runs.
Talking about the Indian bowling attack, Shami took a
five-wicket haul in his 10-over spell against New Zealand. While Yadav picked
up two wickets. On the other hand, Bumrah, and Siraj bagged one wicket in their
respective spell.
ANI
