THE DAY CRICKET PEAKED

 

Image Credit- ESPN CricInfo.

Venue- Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai [November 15, 2023].

Hosts India were facing New Zealand in the semi-finals of the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup. In the round-robin game in Dharamshala, Indians did secure a hard-fought win. However, it was the knockout stage, and it didn't matter what you had done in the previous encounters. One defeat and you are out of the tournament. Unfortunately, in the past 4 years there have been around 3 occasions wherein the Kiwi got the better of the Indians in a must-win game. Who can ever forget the 2019 World Cup semi-final wherein the underdogs got the better of the tournament favorites. Moreover, the defeat in Manchester not just broke the hopes of a World Cup final at Lords, but it also turned out to be the last international game of the great MS Dhoni, who didn't play any international cricket post this and announced retirement a year later. Hence, when these two sides met again in the World Cup semi-final in Mumbai, there was revenge in the air.

 In a must-win game, Indian Captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bat first. The pitch looked like a batting paradise, and when the duo of Rohit and Gill came out to bat, fireworks started in no time. Rohit Sharma scored a quickfire 47 off 29 deliveries and got India off to a flier. It was quite unfortunate that he failed to convert his good start to a big score, as he was caught off Williamson when he was trying to hit the fifth six of his innings.

The scorecard read 71/1 when Kohli joined Gill in the middle. In the initial stage, Kohli did struggle in front of the Kiwi bowlers. There was an LBW appeal which did turn in Kohli's way. However, soon Kohli found his rhythm, and runs started coming from Kohli's bat. At the other end, Gill too was batting wonderfully. Unfortunately, he sustained an injury due to which he left the ground and came in the very end, or else he could have got a wonderful World Cup ton.

 However, the man who got all the attention was Virat Kohli, who surpassed the great Sachin Tendulkar as he scored his 50th ODI hundred. There was a huge cheer all around the ground when he completed the double to get to his 100. Apart from Virat, Iyer too scored a magnificent century as Indians ended up scoring 397 runs in 50 overs for the loss of 4 wickets. It was absolute carnage by the Indian batters.

398 was never going to be an easy target, and when Shami dismissed both the openers cheaply, it appeared that the match would end in no time. But, this is cricket, where anything can happen any moment. The match is not over till the last ball is bowled. Captain Williamson and Daryl Mitchell stitched a massive partnership of 181 runs in just 148 deliveries and brought the Kiwis back into the game.

Fortunately, Shami picked two quick wickets in between and brought the Indians back into the game. But this didn't slow down the Kiwi run rate as Mitchell continued with the slaughter. It seemed that he was possessed, and he will not stop unless he wins it for the Kiwis. However, Mohammad Shami bowled the spell of his life, which not only saw the end of Mitchell but also of the Kiwis.

Shami ended up picking 7 wickets in the match as Kiwis were bundled out for 327 in 48.5 overs, thus handing the hosts a 70-run win. The Revenge has truly been taken. However, one cannot deny the fact that what we saw that day in Wankhede was an all-time classic. It was surely a day when cricket peaked.

To watch the Highlights of the 2023 World Cup Semi Final -1, Click Here.