Mohammad Shami was on cloud nine after he won his third Player of the Match trophy in this ICC World Cup 2023. This came in the first semi-final of the CWC 2023 between India and New Zealand which was played in Mumbai on November 15.
India had batted first and chose to bat. Rohit Sharma (47) and Shubman Gill (80*) gave India a flying start. Then it was the Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer show as the duo added 163 runs together. Kohli made 117, his 50th ODI century which broke Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 49 tons in format.
Iyer’s 70-ball blitz of 105 with 8 sixes and KL Rahul’s 39* propelled India to 397/4 in 50 overs.
In response, New Zealand was rocked early by Mohammad Shami as both openers Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra fell for 12 runs each. Then Kane Williamson (69) and Daryl Mitchell (134) added 180-plus runs together to bring New Zealand back into the game.
But Rohit then brought Mohammad Shami back and he got rid of Williamson and Tom Latham in the same over. Jasprit Bumrah accounted for Glenn Phillips (41) and then Shami came back to wrap the tail up.
He finished with 7/57 in 9.5 overs as New Zealand was bundled for 327 runs. India won by 70 runs and qualified for the final for the fourth time ever.
CWC 2023: Cricket fraternity reacts as Mohammad Shami’s 7-fer powers India to World Cup final
Mohammad Shami with his 7 wickets made quite a few records. This was the best bowling figures by an Indian in ODIs and the World Cup. Shami also took his third fifer in this CWC 2023, becoming the first bowler to do so in World Cup history.
Mohammad Shami also completed 50 wickets in the World Cup, the fastest in just 17 innings and 795 deliveries. He also was deservedly named the Player of the Match.
Shami talked about the Kane Williamson catch he dropped and also about the fact that he was benched for the first four matches of the tournament.
“I was waiting for my chances. I wasn't playing much white ball cricket. I had in mind, that we talked 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 on the chance I have been given. We don't know when all of us will get a chance like this again,” Shami said in a post-match presentation.
India will now play the winner of the second semi-final between Australia and South Africa in the final in Ahmedabad on November 19.
