India Defeats New Zealand to Advance to Cricket World Cup Final

After Lockie Ferguson officially ended New Zealand's campaign with a nicked behind, Team India rarely shown any emotion. Did they contain their joy upon reaching the final, or did they display relief for Ahmedabad? That ultimately seems to be the consensus at the Wankhede on Wednesday.

With a 70-run triumph, Rohit Sharma's team was able to break the semi-final curse; yet, there were times throughout the game when they were in danger of losing.

After combining for 181 runs off 149 balls, Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell seemed like they may win the game, but that was before Mohammed Shami entered the game for his second stint.

After taking out the first five wickets in the Powerplay, Shami came back to stifle their resistance with two more in the middle overs and three more in the last Powerplay.

With a deft use of the crease, he took use of the various angles. As usual, he delivered the necessary strikes at the perfect times and with accuracy.

It was during the Williamson-Mitchell program that Wankhede had gone quiet. After the Kiwi captain gave him a clean sheet, Shami made the decision to offer apologies.
In the course of two balls, he removed Tom Latham and Williamson, putting India back in the hunt. Williamson caught Latham in front with a straight flick to the deep square leg, followed by a backhand.

Despite this, Glenn Philips and centurion Mitchell persisted, revealing India's deficiency in a sixth bowling option. However, Mitchell had slowed down after turning 100. He was having cramps, which made it difficult for him to move.

Off the last ten, New Zealand needed 132 runs. The situation was reversed by Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah after Mohammed Siraj let up 20 runs in the 41st over.

With his variety, Kuldeep held the hitters at bay, conceding only two and four runs in his last two overs, respectively. Mitchell persevered after Philips and Mark Chapman were fired in rapid succession.

Shami's cunning was required to drive the figurative last nail in the coffin. The Indians knew that New Zealand's days were limited when Mitchell blasted Shami into deep mid-wicket.

The 398-run total was made achievable by Shreyas Iyer's brilliant 105 off 70 balls and Virat Kohli's historic 50th ODI century, which were overshadowed by Shami's seven for 57, India's highest in this format. Shubman Gill was the lone unfortunate to lose out on a century.

There were ups and downs in the semi-final, but Shami's timely blows had turned the tide in India's favour.

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Team India for the 2023 ICC Men's World Cup
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Shriyas Iyer of Virat Leasing Ltd.
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