Mumbai, Nov 15: Mohammed Shami claimed his third five-wicket haul of the tournament in a brilliant 7-57 as India overcame a valiant century by Daryl Mitchell (134) to defeat New Zealand by 70 runs and storm into the final of the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023 on Wednesday.
Shami, who came into the team after Hardik Pandya was injured and claimed 5-54 against New Zealand at Dharamsala and then picked 5-18 against Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium here, struck when India needed the most as he bagged 7-57 in 9.5 overs.
After Virat Kohli (117) had struck a record-breaking 50th century and Shreyas Iyer blazed to a second successive ton to help India post a massive 397/4 in 40 overs, Shami came to India’s rescue as he inspired the team to fight back and restrict New Zealand to 327 all out in 48.5 overs to script a memorable triumph.
India will next meet the winner of the second semifinal between Australia and South Africa to be played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday. The final will be played in Ahmedabad on Sunday (Nov 19).
Providing vital breakthroughs when India needed the most, Shami prised out openers Devon Conway (13) and Rachin Ravindra (13) to give India a good start and then returned to dismiss Kane Williamson (69) and Tom Latham (0) in one brilliant over to pull India back into the game after the New Zealand skipper and Daryl Mitchell had raised 183 runs for the third-wicket partnership and were looking dangerous for India.
Brief scores:
India 397/4 in 50 overs (Virat Kohli 117, Shreyas Iyer 105, Shubman Gill 80 not out; Rohit Sharma 47; KL Rahul 39 not out; Tim Southee 3-100) beat New Zealand 327 all out in 48.5 overs (Kane Williamson 69, Daryl Mitchell 134, Glenn Phillips 41; Mohammed Shami 7-57) by 70 runs.