Just for a moment, it felt as if October 22, 2023 would turn out to be a historic day for cricket. Virat Kohli, the cornerstone of India’s batting unit, looked set to equal Sachin Tendulkar’s world record of 49 ODI hundreds in the World Cup game against New Zealand in Dharamsala. The crowd waited with bated breath for Kohli to stamp his authority and provide the finishing touches to yet another masterclass.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be as Kohli spooned a catch to the fielder stationed at deep midwicket off Matt Henry, falling short of the coveted landmark by five runs. Kohli’s knock, however, paved the way for India to chase down a tricky target of 274. India have now won all their five games, while New Zealand slipped to their first loss of the tournament. It was India’s first victory against the Black Caps in any ICC tournament since March 2003.
It was after the completion of 46 overs that Kohli decided to press the accelerator. Just like in the game against Bangladesh, he took most of the strike. In the 47th over, he clouted Trent Boult for a six and a boundary. Boult also bowled a wide in that over. That left India needing seven off three overs, with Kohli on 93. In the next over, Kohli did pick up a couple of runs before being dismissed.
There was another knock that played a pivotal role in India’s victory – Rohit Sharma’s 40-ball 46. Early on in the innings, the ball nipped around quite a bit. Henry, renowned for his scrambled seam and a hint of swing, beat the bats of Rohit and Shubman Gill, in particular, several times. However, Rohit was ready to take the aggressive route in order to negate the early threat. In Henry’s first over itself, he charged down the deck and thumped him over cow corner for a six, before following it up with a boundary.
In the fifth over, Rohit went one better as he deposited Boult over his head and into the stands. The shot played was of the highest class. A few overs later, Rohit once again skipped down the track and tonked Henry through long-off. Gill, Rohit’s batting partner, also joined the act, cracking some fine drives. Eventually, Rohit edged one on to the stumps. But by then, he had given India a rousing start.
Ferguson also dislodged Gill to leave India two down. At that stage, Shreyas Iyer joined forces with Kohli and played a flurry of shots. For a brief period, play had to be stopped due to mist. When it resumed, Iyer was dismissed by a bouncer from Boult. More than any technical flaw, it was poor shot selection that let Iyer down.
Kohli then strung together a vital 54-run stand with KL Rahul, before Mitchell Santner trapped Rahul leg before wicket. Initially not given as Rahul had stepped far out of the crease, New Zealand got it reversed via the review, which showed three reds. There was more trouble for India as Suryakumar Yadav was run out on the back of a mix-up with Kohli. Kohli and Jadeja then cleverly farmed the strike, alongside the occasional pull stroke to guide India to safer waters. Ultimately, Jadeja scored the winning runs.
Earlier, Mohammed Shami had taken a five-for to stall New Zealand’s progress in the slog overs. The way he generated contrast swing to run through New Zealand’s middle and lower order was a sight to behold. He took his last four wickets in the space of just nine deliveries. Kuldeep Yadav went for 73 runs but also took two wickets, while Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj bagged one scalp each.
For New Zealand, Daryl Mitchell composed a splendid innings of 130 off 127 deliveries. He was the ninth man dismissed. Mitchell also stitched together an association of 159 for the third wicket with Rachin Ravindra to lay the platform for a massive score. India’s pace bowlers, though, had other ideas.