India beat New Zealand by 70 runs on Wednesday in Mumbai after setting a target of 398 in the ICC Cricket World Cup tournament’s first semifinal.
If Virat Kohli was the star for India with the bat, Mohammed Shami was undoubtedly the hero with the ball. He has the most wickets in this tournament so far, 23 and counting.
Kohli assumed his place at the top of one-day international (ODI) greats with his 50th century in the format. The milestone took him past cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 49 ODI hundreds.
Shreyas Iyer’s own stunning hundred helped India set the biggest-ever total in a Men’s Cricket World Cup semi-final, bringing up his ton off 67 balls.
New Zealand persevered in the battle as much as possible. Darryl Mitchell achieved yet another century without giving any chances, marking his second one against India in the tournament. Contributions from Williamson and Phillips were valuable, but once Shami found his rhythm, India became unstoppable. Shami, a right-arm pacer, took seven wickets, a historic feat for an Indian, leading India to a 70-run victory.
Mohammed Shami has become the first Indian player to claim seven wickets in a World Cup match.
Shami said his team were determined not to let the chance of winning a home World Cup slip out of their hands.
“We have come very close in the past, but this one chance we were not going to let go. Who knows when the next chance might come,” he said after winning the player of the match award.
