Indian team heaved a ton of relief as they broke their ICC knockout matches jinx against New Zealand by defeating them by 70 runs in the first semi-final of the Cricket World Cup 2023 in Mumbai on November 15.
India had posted a massive 397/4 with Shreyas Iyer scoring 105 and Virat Kohli scoring 117, his 50th ODI ton. Shubman Gill made 80* and Rohit Sharma made a breezy 47 to give India a flying start. In response, Daryl Mitchell made 134 and with Kane Williamson’s 69, gave Indian team and fans some concern in the middle in one passage of play.
But then Mohammad Shami produced his career best ODI bowling figures of 7/57 as New Zealand was bundled out for 327 runs and lost by 70 runs. India will now play the winner of Australia v South Africa semi-final, in the final match of the CWC 2023 on November 19 in Ahmedabad.
The Indian dressing was full of energy after the victory. Kohli, who shattered Sachin Tendulkar’s record for most ODI hundreds, hugged and greeted almost every teammate, including captain Rohit Sharma.
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On the other hand, Ashwin kissed the hands of Shami to congratulate him for achieving a remarkable milestone. The dressing room also got a visit from Yuzvendra Chahal, who greeted the likes of Kohli, Ishan Kishan and Jasprit Bumrah.
The BCCI captured the emotions on camera and the video was shared on its official Instagram handle.
They captioned it: “Raw emotions & pure joy post a special win at Wankhede. Thank you to all the fans for the unwavering support.”
