CWC 2023, India vs New Zealand: Mohammed Shami's 5-54, Virat Kohli's 95 and Daryl Mitchell's 130 are top performances. India beat New Zealand by 4 wickets and move to top of the points table.
Brief Scores: India 274/6(Kohli 95, Rohit 46, Ferguson 2/63) beat New Zealand 273(Daryll 130, Rachin 75, Shami 5/54) by 4 wickets.
Player of the Match: Mohammad Shami for 5-54
India finally broke the jinx of 20 years to register a win against New Zealand in ODI CWC. Interestingly, the two teams didn’t compete against each other in the World Cup in 2007, 2011, and 2015 editions. It was the able chase master Kohli’s unwavering efforts and passion and Mohammed Shami’s match-winning fifer spell that helped India to cross one of the most difficult hurdles of the World Cup. This win against New Zealand will surely boost the morale of the Indian camp. The last time India won against New Zealand was in the 2003 edition under the leadership of Sourav Ganguly.
It was a clash of Titans, i.e., the unbeaten top two sides to date, India and New Zealand, in the 21st match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 in the lap of the luscious Himalayas in HPCA Stadium, Dharamshala.
For India, it was more of a chance of revenge redemption. The primary reason was the most heartbreaking loss for India in the 2019 World Cup semis, where Martin Guptill ran MS Dhoni out just by a few centimeters to end every possible hope of victory for India.
India and New Zealand have faced each other ten times in the ICC Cricket World Cup. New Zealand has a better record, having defeated India 5 times in the World Cup history. India has won 4 matches, while 1 game was abandoned.
Talking point: Ravindra Jadeja is among the biggest positives for India
Ravindra Jadeja scored a valiant 77 against New Zealand in the 2019 CWC, but his innings didn’t prove sufficient to help the team cross the line, as India lost by 18 runs. But this time, he made sure to redeem the chance he got again to do the previous wrongs right by finishing it well for India against New Zealand. This was the first time he got an opportunity to bat in the ongoing WC. He supported Kohli well and was taking his time and rotating the strike, which helped him garner confidence over time.
Whenever required, he played big shots as well so that the required rate didn’t jump off exponentially. He scored an unbeaten 39 off 44 deliveries to help in the winning cause for India. This innings ensured that he would rise to the occasion whenever there were difficult and testing conditions for the lower middle order and finish it for India.
Now it is time to break the top three performances from the India-New Zealand game:-
Daryl Mitchell’s century helped New Zealand put a good total
After New Zealand lost its openers only 19 runs at the beginning of the 9th over, the third wicket stand of 159 between Daryl Mitchell and Rachin Ravindra steadied the ship for New Zealand after a horrific start. Daryl Mitchell was cautious in his approach in the first 10 overs while playing against pacers, but as soon as spinners started their spell, Daryl started gaining momentum in his innings, hitting all around the park as his innings progressed; he showed the same confidence against pacers as well in the latter half. He was dropped at 59 once, and he made India pay heavily for the dropped catch as he went on to score 130 runs. The way he took on spin confidently and his shots against the spinners was the main highlighting point of his innings.
Mohammad Shami produced an exquisite fifer spell
Mohammad Shami played his first match in the ongoing ODI WC, but he made sure to grab this opportunity with both hands and make this count. He claimed the wicket of Will Young in his very first over’s first ball, where Young dragged the ball onto the stumps while trying to play a cut shot. He was the one who broke the 159-run stand between Rachin and Daryll as he dismissed Rachin first off an off-cutter delivery, which he tried to loft across the line and got caught by Gill. He bowled out Santner and Henry off two consecutive deliveries and, at last, dismissed the highest run-getter for New Zealand, Daryll Mitchell, who hit the cue end of his bat while trying to play his shot over covers. What was special about Mohammed Shami’s bowling was that he was constantly hitting the right lengths close to the stump line and mixing his lengths well, which helped him produce this magnificent spell.
Virat Kohli is showing again why he is the most celebrated chase master
Tough and challenging situations define the mindset and agility of the most celebrated chasemaster. He only sees the target and decides to chase it at any cost. Only once in his entire career has he failed to get Team India over the line while chasing, which shows how he turns into a run-machine.
India lost both its openers in 76 runs after both the openers got off to a decent start in a tricky run chase. Given that the conditions at Dharamshala suited New Zealand bowlers’ skillset, it was a tough run chase. India lost Shreyas Iyer's and KL Rahul's wickets while Virat Kohli was still playing at the other end. there were 52 and 60-run stands between Kohli-Iyer and Kohli-Rahul, respectively, but getting over the line was still far from reach. Kohli was very patient in his shots, didn’t try to take unnecessary risks, played reckless shots, and constructed his innings very well. He was rotating the strike, respected the good balls of the bowlers, and hit on the loose deliveries. His maturity in the run chase proved to be a good differentiator to help team India win against New Zealand as he scored a heroic 95, who again looked good for a century but unfortunately missed it this time.
Statistical highlights from India vs Bangladesh, CWC 2023
The third wicket stand of 159 between Rachin Ravindra & Daryl Mitchell is NZ’s second-highest for this wicket in ODI WC history.
This 159 stand is also NZ’s highest for any wicket against India in ODI WC.
Daryl Mitchell is the fourth Kiwi batter to get 4 ODI hundreds in a calendar year.
Shami’s 5-54 produces his best-ever bowling figures in ODI WC.
Shami is the third-highest wicket-taker (36) for India in ODI WC.
Md Shami has two 5-fers in the World Cup, the most by an Indian bowler in the ODI WC.
Also, Shami has five 4 wicket hauls, the most by an Indian bowler, second joint with Imran Tahir trailing behind Mitchell Starc’s 6. No other Indian bowler has more than two 4-plus wicket hauls in World Cups.
Daryll Mitchell is the only Kiwi batter in 48 years to have scored a century in CWC after Glenn Turner in 1975 against India.
Shubman Gill is the fastest batter to reach 2,000 ODI runs (38 innings).
Read More: CWC 2023, IND vs AFG: Rohit scores fastest WC century for India; hosts jump to second spot
ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 Points Table
Points Table & What’s Next
India becomes the first team in ICC ODI CWC to enter into double digits in the points table and is the only side that has remained unbeaten in 5 games. India enjoys a decent NRR of 1.353. New Zealand stays second at the points table with 8 points with an NRR of 1.481. India will next face England on 29th October in Ekana Stadium in Lucknow.
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