ODI World Cup 2023: India vs New Zealand, Semi Final 1- Who Said What?

Mohammed Shami’s seven-for and Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer’s centuries helped India qualify for the finals of the ODI World Cup 2023. Batting first, skipper Rohit Sharma gave a pitch-perfect start as he set the tone of the match. Later, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli built a strong partnership but the prior couldn’t continue for long as the heat in Mumbai got the better of him. However, Shreyas Iyer joined the party and hit a blistering century to help India post a massive total of 398 runs on board. Virat Kohli meanwhile hit his 50th ODI century and dedicated to his idol Sachin Tendulkar, which only made the day more perfect.

When it came to the chase, Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell’s partnership bothered India for the longest period of time but Mohammed Shami was unstoppable as he picked wickets at regular intervals to keep India in the match. Mitchell meanwhile hit 134 runs and was looking in solid touch but it went in vain in the end.

Legend became Greatest

Virat Kohli surpassed the great Sachin Tendulkar as he notched up his 50th ODI century at Wankhede. He paid tribute to the Master Blaster after reaching the milestone, and in the process became one of the greatest players to ever play white-ball cricket. His 117-run knock helped India post a massive total on board.

Mr. Consistent Shreyas Iyer

Shreyas Iyer hits back-to-back centuries on the biggest stage. He is in the form of his life and that should give him confidence to do well in the finals of the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023. He smashed 105 runs off 70 deliveries, which helped Virat to settle in, and it eventually helped India post a mammoth 397 runs on the board.

They can’t play Shami

Mohammed Shami picked up seven wickets to help India win the match. He gave breakthroughs at a very important time throughout the innings, which sealed the deal for India. Notably, Shami became the quickest to 50 wickets in the history of the ODI World Cups. Moreover, he is also leading the most wickets chart in the ongoing World Cup with 23 wickets. As a result of his magnificent bowling, Shami bagged the Player of the Match, and deservingly so.

Losing skipper Kane Williamson said:

Firstly, congrats to India. They have played great cricket throughout. They played their best game today. They are a top side and played top cricket. Credit to the guys. Proud of the guys to stay in the fight. Disappointing to go out in the knock-out stages. The effort was there. India are a top-class side. The world class batters just came out and batted beautifully. They got to 400. Was tough as the ball was moving around. Credit to India, they outplayed us. Nice to be out there to give us a chance. Fantastic crowd. Slightly one-sided. Special to be here and glad to be hosted by India. As a team, there is real commitment to the cricket we wanted to play. Rachin and Mitchell were special. They played really well. Bowlers chipped in here and there. Lot of fight. Very proud. Ultimately it is moving forward as a team.

Winning skipper Rohit Sharma said:

I have played a lot of cricket here, you cannot relax. You got to get the job done as quickly as possible. We knew there'll be pressure on us. We were calm even though we were a bit sloppy on the field. These things are bound to happen, glad that we could get the job done. When the scoring rate is above 9, you gotta take chances. They gave us chances, we didn't take them., Mitchell and Williamson batted brilliantly. We had to stay calm. The crowd went silent, that's the nature of the game. We knew we had to pull something from our sleeves. We tried everything and Shami was brilliant. The top five-six batters, they have made it count. Very pleased with what Iyer has done in this tournament. Gill, the way he batted u[pfront was brilliant, unfortunately he had to return back. Kohli, as usual, was brilliant, played his trademark innings and got to his landmark. All in all, the batting was superb. That's the template we want to move with.

POTM Mohammed Shami said:

I was waiting for my turn. I wasn't playing much white ball cricket. I had in mind, we talk about a lot of things like yorkers and slower balls. I tried to take wickets with the new ball. I try to take as many as I can with the new ball. I dropped the catch of Kane. I felt bad. I tried to take pace off. They were playing their shots. So, I took a chance. The wicket was good. There was the fear of dew. The grass was cut off nicely. The runs were enough. Had dew come in, things could have been bad. The slower balls might not have worked. I feel amazing. This is a huge platform. We lost in the semis in the 2015 and the 2019 WC. Looking to cash in with the chance I have been given. We don't know when all of us will get a chance like this again.