Breaking records, Kohli and Shami lead India to the World Cup final.
In order to lead India to the competition final, Mohammed Shami became the first bowler to take three five-wicket hauls in a single 50-over World Cup, while Virat Kohli struck a record-breaking 50th ODI century, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar’s total. Beyond Stuart Binny’s 6 for 4, Shami’s 7 for 57 is also the best-ever ODI stats for an Indian bowler. A determined Daryll Mitchell threatened to offer Wankhede another mind-numbing chase à la Glenn Maxwell for parts of the chase after India reached 397/4, but the 2019 finalists were ultimately defeated by 70 runs due to lack of support.
Around Kohli’s fireworks (117 off 113) was some amazing batting from everyone. In the first PowerPlay, Rohit Sharma misled Mitchell Santner and the New Zealand quicks with his enthusiastic style. His 47 off 22 set the squad up, but he lived and died by the sword. After that, Shubman Gill took over and scored immediately as Kohli became comfortable and attacked Lockie Ferguson’s shoddy lengths. Before the harsh Mumbai weather got the better of him and forced him to retire injured, he had reached a half-century and looked ready to make a century. But that brought Shreyas Iyer into the center, and he was lethal against Glenn Phillips and Rachin Ravindra, the part-timers from New Zealand.
India steadied well with 66 and 64 in the next two sets of ten overs after scoring 84 runs in the opening ten overs, but Iyer and Kohli managed to push it even farther with 73 in the following ten overs. With a score of 287/1 in 40 overs, India was primed for victory. After scoring the record century, Kohli displayed intense passion before getting out in the 44th over. But Iyer raced to a century from 67 balls. As India scored 110 runs in the final 10 overs to give the Kiwis a difficult task, KL Rahul also went for the kill at the very end.
Devon Conway got the chase underway with a four past point, and after Jasprit Bumrah made an unusually sluggish start, he added another in the opening over. Because Mohammed Siraj was also off early, Rohit Sharma decided to upset the chasing side early by bringing on Mohammed Shami in the sixth over. He circled the stumps to Conway, who is left-handed, and got him to follow and snag a ball that sailed past him. A superb diving catch was made by KL Rahul behind the wickets. Taking the wicket of Rachin Ravindra, who was also caught behind, in his subsequent over, Shami put New Zealand under even more pressure in an already difficult chase.
New Zealand’s progress was boosted by Daryl Mitchell and Kane Williamson, who added 41 runs in the five overs after the PowerPlay. India missed a run out opportunity when Rahul took the bails off with his glove, but Mitchell and Williamson negotiated well against India’s spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja, keeping the scoring rate at slightly above six an over. Mitchell and Williamson both reached half-centuries, with Mitchell taking on Jadeja with two sixes to help New Zealand reach 180 for 2 in 28 overs. The equation was still challenging, and Rohit brought back Bumrah to try and break the partnership and derail the chase. Mitchell miscued a slower ball from Bumrah, but he managed to send it to the boundary. In the same over, Mohammed Shami dropped a simple catch offered to him by Williamson at mid-on.
The crowd at Wankhede Stadium fell silent as Daryl Mitchell played one of the best shots of the match, a thunderous uppish drive that sent a Jasprit Bumrah delivery over mid-off for a six on the first ball of the 31st over. With the asking rate now hovering around ten an over, the tension was palpable. Williamson played a classic punch through cover in the same over, leaving India’s captain Rohit Sharma with a lot to think about heading into the final stages of the chase.
In the 33rd over, Mitchell became only the second batsman after Sourav Ganguly to score two centuries against an opposition in the same World Cup edition. However, in that same over, Shami made amends for his earlier dropped catch by having Williamson caught at deep square leg and then trapping Tom Latham leg before two balls later, effectively extinguishing New Zealand’s hopes.
India continued to tighten the noose with two more tight overs from Ravindra Jadeja and Shami, further increasing the asking rate. Mitchell, however, refused to give up. He hit Shami for a huge six in the 39th over and then displayed exceptional skill against Mohammed Siraj’s wide yorkers from around the stumps. He then played a scoop for a six over fine leg, bringing New Zealand’s score to 266/4 in 40 overs. The target remained a daunting 132 off the last 60 balls, but the conditions and Mitchell’s unwavering determination meant the match was set up for a thrilling climax.
Glenn Phillips joined the party by taking 20 runs off the 41st over from Mohammed Siraj. The match continued to ebb and flow, with Kuldeep Yadav bowling an exceptional over in which he nearly dismissed Mitchell and conceded just two runs. However, Jasprit Bumrah returned and struck another blow with a slower one that Phillips miscued in an attempt to hit another six. Ravindra Jadeja took a sharp catch at long off, leaving Mitchell with a lot of work to do in the company of the lower order.
Mark Chapman walked out and was out in a jiffy in another exceptional over at the death from Kuldeep, which yielded New Zealand just four runs and a wicket.
Shami then returned to sound the death knell for New Zealand as he had Mitchell caught in the deep to complete his five-wicket haul. With this, Shami became the first bowler to pick up his third five-wicket haul in a single edition of the World Cup. He added two more to his record tally, surpassing Ashish Nehra’s 6 for 23 against England in the 2003 World Cup and earning the best-ever bowling figures in a World Cup knockout fixture.
