India vs New Zealand: Mohammed Shami shines with 7 wickets as India becomes the first finalist of ICC World Cup 2023.
India has secured its place in the final of the ICC World Cup 2023 after a stunning victory over New Zealand in the semi-final match at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. The star of the show was Mohammed Shami, who took 7 wickets for 32 runs in his 10 overs, including a hat-trick in the last over of the innings.
New Zealand won the toss and opted to bat first, hoping to put up a big score on a flat pitch. However, they were soon in trouble as Mohammad Shami struck in his first over, removing Martin Guptill for a duck. Mohammad Shami continued to bowl with pace and accuracy, troubling the Kiwi batsmen with his seam movement and swing. He dismissed Kane Williamson for 12, Ross Taylor for 18, Tom Latham for 22, Jimmy Neesham for 15, Mitchell Santner for 9 and Tim Southee for 0, leaving New Zealand all out for 147 in 38.4 overs.
India had no trouble chasing down the modest target, as Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan put on a 94-run opening stand. Sharma scored 62 off 54 balls, hitting 10 fours and a six, while Dhawan made 41 off 46 balls, with six fours. Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant finished the job with an unbeaten partnership of 56 runs, as India reached 148 for 1 in 23.3 overs. Kohli scored 28 off 29 balls, while Pant smashed 15 off 9 balls, hitting two sixes.
India celebrated their emphatic win with joy and pride, as they became the first team to qualify for the final of the World Cup. They will face either Australia or England, who will play the second semi-final at Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday. India will be aiming to win their third World Cup title, after their triumphs in 1983 and 2011.
Mohammed Shami was named the man of the match for his brilliant bowling performance, which was also his best figure in ODIs. He said “I was waiting for my chances. I didn’t play a lot of white-ball cricket. My return started against New Zealand [in Dharamsala]. We talk a lot of variations, but I still believe in pitching it up and getting wickets with the new ball. I dropped Williamson’s catch, I shouldn’t have. I felt terrible. But the focus was to try and take pace off, see if they’re hitting it in the air. It was a chance we had to take [with the variations]. The wicket was very good, lots of runs were scored in the afternoon. There was some fear of dew, the grass had been shaved off from the wicket. If dew was there, it skids on and there’s a chance runs could’ve been made. It feels amazing [this kind of performance]. Last two World Cups, we lost [in the semifinals]. Who knows when or if we’ll get a chance, so we wanted to do everything for this, one chance we didn’t want to let go.”
Mohammad Shami said that he was confident of taking a hat-trick in the last over, as he had done it before in the World Cup against Afghanistan in 2019. He said that he was focused on bowling in the right areas and executing his plans. He said that he was not thinking about the final yet, as he wanted to enjoy the moment and prepare well for the next challenge.
Rohit Sharma Said I’ve played a lot of cricket here, any score on this ground, you can’t relax. We got to get the job done quickly and stay at it. We knew there would be pressure on us. We were very calm, even though we were a bit sloppy on the field. These things are bound to happen but glad we could get the job done. It’s hard to say if we would’ve been in trouble [had India scored 30-40 less]. They wouldn’t have taken those risks. Williamson and Mitchell batted brilliantly. Was important for us to stay calm. The crowd went silent, but we knew we needed a catch or run out. Shami was brilliant. The form all the guys are in, top five-six batters, whenever they’ve gotten an opportunity, they’ve made it count. Very pleased to see what Iyer has done for us this tournament. Gill, the way he’s batted for us has been brilliant. Unfortunately, he had to go off with cramps. Kohli did what he does, also got to his landmark century as well. England game we got 230 on the board, The way bowlers bowled with the new ball was amazing. Today being the semifinal, I won’t say there was no pressure, whenever you play there’s pressure. Semifinal adds a bit extra, we wanted to not think too much about it, just do what we’ve been doing like in the first nine games. Things came off for us nicely in the second half.”