India vs New Zealand Highlights, World Cup 2023 Semi-Final: Mohammed Shami claims seven wickets, India reach World Cup final

Shreyas Iyer (to Star Sports): Rohit sets the template, gives us the starts where we have to just go and carry forward from the base he gives. He is a fearless captain. You can see that in his body language and it's kind of infectious, rubs off on all the players. (On the backing from the management) It's pivotal, coming from the captain and coach. I didn't have a great start to the World Cup. They told me not to worry about the outside noise, we are backing you, so you just got to go out there and express yourself. (About handling pressure) To be honest in pressure situations you tend to get nervous but at the same time it's also fun playing in front of so many people and if you perform they lift you up. (How intense are the net sessions given the quality of the bowling attack) It is definitely intense. We see to it that we play the most difficult bowler. Whenever Bumrah comes with the new ball I face him because you know it's going to be difficult and it helps you for the matches.

Rohit Sharma: 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 upfront 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. England game, we got only 230 on the board. The way our bowlers bowled upfront, they picked wickets. Today, I wouldn't say there was no pressure. Guys were doing the job. We wanted to do what we've been doing in the first nine games. Things came off really nice.

Kane Williamson: 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.

Mohammed Shami: 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.

Mohammed Shami returns for his last over. AND HE WRAPS IT UP IN STYLE!

Two caught behind dismissals and Mohammed Shami has become the first Indian player to claim seven wickets in a World Cup match. Another moment of history at the Wankhede. He takes the match ball from the umpire and India are into the World Cup final.

The delight on Rohit Sharma's face says it all. He couldn't resist lifting Mohammed Shami. Despite 397 runs on the board, it wasn't a win that fell into their lap. Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell had them at the edge by the 30 over mark. Shami himself had a horror moment as he dropped the Kiwi skipper but just how well he came back and brought India with in with him into the game. SEVEN WICKETS IN ONE GAME! SEVEN! What a gift of a bowler. What a gift of a team as they win a 10th game on a trot and make way into the special eve with the destiny on 19th November 2023. A fourth World Cup final.

Siraj returns back to close his spell. He has the cushion to close on a high after being taken to the cleaners by Phillips in that last over that costed 20. Gets picked for another boundary off this one before he gets a wicket at last. Santner miscues one high and it finds its way to Rohit Sharma, who hangs onto it this time. New Zealand lose another one and India are two wickets or 12 deliveries - whichever's closer - to a place in the World Cup final.

Bumrah in to wrap his spell. And he almost gets another wicket. Another brilliant slower one outside the off stump and Tim Southee hasn't picked it. Bats it towards mid off and Rohit Sharma runs to claim it but is blinded by the floodlights beaming right into his eyeline as he gestures afterwards. Five runs come off the over. 313/7 after 47 overs. 

You could've seen it coming!

Mitchell was tiring out as the run rate kept rising and the boundaries were far and few of late. Shami slants one in on his pads and the centurion locates the 'human magnet' as nomenclatured by Ian Smith on the comms. A FIVE WICKET HAUL FOR SHAMI!

What a story he has been at this World Cup. It started with a 5-fer against New Zealand. It's got to another 5-fer against New Zealand. In a World Cup semifinal. India inch closer to the final. New Zealand, 308/7 after 46 overs.

Jasprit Bumrah steams in for his penultimate over. Hasn't been the outing per his lofty standards but after those boundaries from Mitchell, he's come back hard in this last spell. What a sight he is to watch operate in the death overs. Nails his lengths full and onto the pads and gives away just the seven runs from the over. Spare a thought for Daryl Mitchell, who's played a tremendous innings and has had the life sucked out of him by the Indian bowlers of late in the attempt to keep getting those boundaries. 306/6 after 45 overs. 

Kuldeep Yadav to Mark Chapman. Last over for the chinaman. A couple of superbly flighted leg breakers and the southpaw has been put under enormous pressure to go all guns blazing with Kuldeep finding his rhythm in the past couple of overs. 

And he gets a wicket for it. Chapman goes for a slog but is holed at the deep square leg boundary by Jadeja. Two wickets for India in as many overs. New Zealand go six down and they may as well have been seven as KL Rahul is unable to claim the newly in Mitchell Santner off the chinaman's last ball. 99 needed off the last six overs.

A change in bowling on expected grounds as Jasprit Bumrah comes in for Mohammed Siraj, who'd leaked big in the last over. A comical revision of cricket's run-out rules here. 

A run out attempt at the non-striker's end takes off both the bails with Phillips at home. There's an overthrow to be run and Bumrah goes for another direct-hit at the same end but Mitchell can't be run out as both bails are already off. 

Bumrah though, gets a wicket either ways. Quick, quick, quick, quick, and then, he finally nails in a slower one and Phillips has holed it straight to Jadeja at the mid off fence. India have a fifth, Bumrah has a first. Mark Chapman is the new man in for New Zealand. 103 needed off 42 balls.

Sriram Veera, from Wankhede: That was some over by Kuldeep in the 42nd over. Just 2 runs. But the approach was fantastic to see. For the first 3 balls he was spinning into the middle stump line, giving just one single to Phillips. But when Mitchell came on strike and tried to jump to the off to smash him over, he adjusted smartly to push it outside off,

Would the younger Kuldeep have done so well there? He still has one important over to go, which could be the ultra crucial in the scheme of things.

Each dot ball being valued at the Wankhede as an equivalent of a wicket at the moment as Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips continue their search for boundaries. Rohit Sharma has entrusted Kuldeep Yadav for this one and the chinaman doesn't disappoint. Mixes his pace to perfection and both the Kiwi batters miss out on the heavy slogs. Just the two runs from that over. 110 runs needed off the last eight overs.

Glenn Phillips has got into the monster mode at the other end as Siraj gets into his eighth over. It's gotten a bit predictable for the Kiwis at this moment with both Shami and Siraj going wide from that round the wicket angle against the two right handers. Phillips goes after Siraj in that over. Two sixes and a four from it with two more extras. A staggering 20 runs come from the over. The equation comes down to 112 off the last nine overs and India desperately need a wicket. More so, a bowling change from this end.

Shami ups the pace. Consistently banging over 140 and seems good for the two more overs left in his spell. 

Mitchell has made his mind to go after him but India's only wicket taker on the day doesn't allow him by going yorker length and then short against him in his eighth over. Until he goes full from that round the wicket angle and Mitchell cuts him in half with a paddle-scoop over fine leg for six. What monstrosity this from him. 40 overs gone, New Zealand are 266/4.

Siraj continues from the other end. And it seems the switch has flicked in this partnership. It has to, with 153 runs required off the last 12 overs. The first ball lands at perfect yorker length. The second, slightly fullish and Phillips has a swing at it - inducing an outside edge that runs down short third for four. 

To Mitchell, he insists with that round the wicket, wide yorker length. But the Kiwi has got a hang of it and has a one handed swing off it that runs down the backward point fence for four. 257/4 after 39 overs.

Shami to Mitchell. He's been kept silent since Williamson's departure and with the run rate rising, he has to go for it. And go for it he does. Shami dishes one into his slot from over the wicket and he straight-bat-lofts him down the ground for six. It's an over that sees a boundary but could've been worse for India as Shami's next ball is a full toss but Mitchell's straight drive is too straight and hits the stumps. Dot ball. 245/4 after 38 overs.

Siraj from round the wicket against Mitchell, pitching it wide and full to the centurion. To Phillips, he goes short and wide, and in the attempt to do so, bowls a wide. Overall, another good over that for India. Only five runs off it. 236/4 after 37 overs.

Sriram Veera, from Wankhede: Rohit is constantly moving his fielders around. As soon as Kuldeep mis-fielded and gave an extra run at sweeper cover in the 37th over, he replaced him with Jadeja. Earlier in the over, he moved out Shami from long-off and put  him in covers. Kuldeep was sent there, instead.

Sriram Veera, from Wankhede: To test the cramped Mitchell, Indians are trying a ploy. Mohammad Siraj has gone round the stumps and is firing well outside off. They have the right field too. Gill at short third man and the best fielder in the world Ravindra Jadeja at widish third man. 

They had practiced this angle of bowling in the previous game against Netherlands. Rohit had said how this was to get some real-game training done n case it’s needed. And now, it’s being used in the world cup semifinal.

25 extras conceded by the Indian bowlers up until the 36th over (b 4, lb 5, w 15, nb 1, p 0). Here's the share of the same among the bowlers.

Jasprit Bumrah: 0/45 off 7 overs (5 wides)
Mohammed Siraj: 0/34 off 5 overs (o extras and no balls)
Mohammed Shami: 4/30 off 6 overs (2 wides)
Ravindra Jadeja: 0/63 off 10 overs (1 no ball)
Kuldeep Yadav: 0/50 off 8 overs (0 wides and no balls)

Ravindra Jadeja continues. "Mitchell has gone down. Again. And this time, Ishan Kishan, the sub, stretches his leg before the physio runs in to take over," informs Sriram Veera from the venue. And we have a break again. 

Phillips pockets a first boundary, bissecting a gap behind square on the off side for four. Jadeja finishes his spell at 0/63. New Zealand, 231/4 after 36 overs.

Tushar Bhaduri: One would have thought that getting close to 400 would have made the second innings relatively stress-free for Indian fans. But after two early wickets from Mohammed Shami, when Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell got entrenched and relatively kept the asking rate in check, the Wankhede stands began to get restive. Things became so desperate at one stage that the crowd began to cheer dot balls. But as has been the case since he returned to the XI, it was Shami who brought much-needed relief again. Soon after dropping a sitter to give Williamson a life, the pacer with the straightest seam in the world came back to have the Kiwi captain caught on the rope and then trapped Tom Latham in front with a skidder from round the stumps. The embrace from captain Rohit Sharma was a particularly warm one.

The Indian rehab after the assault from the Mitchell-Williamson partnership continues. Just as the centurion receives treatment from the Black Caps physio, the Wankhede crowd gets those flashlights up as the DJ gets them going with Vande Mataram being sung in full flow. Mohammed Shami has all the pumping he needs to come scampering in from over the wicket and bowl another useful over and keep the momentum in India's favor. Only three runs come off that. New Zealand, 224/4 after 35 overs.

Day of No. 50 for India, tells Vinayakk Mohanarangan: Rohit Sharma went past 50 sixes in ICC Men's Cricket World Cups, the first batter to do so. Virat Kohli scored his 50th ODI century, the first batter to do so. Mohammed Shami went past 50 wickets in ICC Men's Cricket World Cups, the first Indian bowler to do so.

Sriram Veera: Mitchell has gone down with possibly cramps. Physio is out there stretching. The umpires too have gathered around the crime scene. Some Indians taking a drinks break. KL Rahul and Bumrah are having a chat.

And just like that, India have found the spring in their step at the Wankhede. They smell blood. Jadeja back to his I-don't-care-how-quick-I-am pace of bowling through overs and goes click-click to wrap that ninth over. Glenn Phillips has been welcomed to a hostile Wankhede crowd that can sense another one here. Just the one run from that over. 221/4 after 34 overs.

Shami replaces Bumrah. Mitchell gets to his hundred. A second at this World Cup - coincidentally - both have come against India. The Wankhede crowd stands to acknowledge a superb innings.

Williamson goes for a neat flick shot and it's gone high but has it gone far......IT HASN'T. SHAMI GETS THE WICKET, HIS THIRD. India break the partnership. He'd dropped him not that long ago. He gets him and the crowd goes delirious. 

Tom Latham is the new man in. Shami goes round the wicket against the left hander and gets one to nip in viciously. It thuds onto the front pad and the umpire raises his finger. SHAMI GETS A SECOND IN THE OVER. His fourth, India's fourth and India's leading wicket taker in the World Cup may have turned this game on its head once again. Splendid over that. Just the one run and two wickets. 220/4 after 33 overs.

Jadeja to come in for Kuldeep after the drinks break. 

And he gets the ball to turn away a mile, inducing an 'ooooohhhh' from Mitchell swiftly followed by a synchronous one from the Indian fans in the stand. He goes to 99. Just the two runs come off the five balls in that over before Williamson takes matters into his own hands and whips Jadeja over mid wicket for four. 219/2 after 32 overs.

Jasprit Bumrah for his seventh over and boy oh boy, New Zealand and peppering him for boundaries as if he's some ordinary bowler. Probably because the lengths from India's premium speedster have been pretty ordinary as well. A length ball on the off, and Mitchell executes a lofted shot over long off to perfection. Six runs. Then, a juicy half volley on the off stump that's directed to the left of Virat Kohli at mid off. Four more. Bumrah goes for 14 off that over. You don't read that often. 213/2 after 31 overs and time for a drinks break.

Kuldeep continues from the other end. So do the boundaries. 

First, Williamson nitpicks the gap between deep mid wicket and long - what he was attempting off that Bumrah delivery as well. Mitchell then, brings out the unorthodox sweep shot behind square on the off side. Two boundaries in that over. 199/2 after 30 overs. This game is very much on. 

Jasprit Bumrah back into the attack. Mitchell picks him for four, even off a mishit. Such is India's luck at the moment, captain Rohit Sharma had put the fielder at deep mid wicket slightly squirer only a delivery back and guess where Mitchell has mishit the shot off the next ball.

Speaking off luck though, Mohammed Shami has dropped Kane Williamson at mid on as the collective hands of the Wankhede crowd go on their heads. The Kiwi skipper, looking to cream one through the leg side perfectly locates the fielder but it wobbles out of Shami's reverse cup grasp. Dejected Indian faces as New Zealand keep marching towards 398. 188/2 after 29 overs.

Mitchell Santner had said in the buildup to the semifinal, "Hopefully we can hear a pin drop and a bit of silence." That's what the other Mitchell in the New Zealand squad has induced with his batting. 

Using his feet and long reach against the spinners, the right hander isn't shying away from the big strokes. Tossed up from Jadeja, and he clears it by rocking back in his crease and lofting it over long on. Kuldeep in the next over, serves a full toss and Santner was ready to meet it with a reverse sweep for four. 180/2 after 28 overs, reads the scoreboard as Wankhede grows more and more silent with each boundary.

Williamson has now got to his 50 as well. He started his innings rustily however, as the innings went on he got better and better. He had plenty of rub of green going his way. There is odd ball turning from time to time however, it is not resulting in a wicket at this point. Mitchell at the other end is looking ominous. It might not be bad for Rohit to bring in one of the seamers back into the attack and get in a small burst. Siraj might be an ideal to candidate to get back in for a couple of overs. 

Rahul Pandey: Daryl Mitchell leaped his front foot out of the crease twice to no avail - even inducing a close lbw call as early as the first ball of Ravindra Jadeja’s fourth over. But despite the risk involved, the journeyman batter wasn’t going to budge away from his A plan. Using his feet and long levers to tackle the Indian bowlers. It’s how he’d taken them down in Dharamsala during round 1 between these two teams at this World Cup. 

The best display of the skill was his takedown of India’s chief spinner in Kuldeep Yadav. The left-arm wrist spinner has barely put a foot wrong this year, leading the wickets tally for India in the format. Alongside Jadeja, Kuldeep’s presence in the middle overs has been a major reason behind India not conceding big at this World Cup so far. Mitchell however, had no reservations in dancing down the wicket against the chinaman. The first sight of tossed up deliveries, was enough of an invitation to waltz down the track to claim maximums. As evidenced by the three biggies he hit off Kuldeep Yadav.

The first of them – a mighty heave over mid wicket – should’ve been enough of an omen for the left-arm spinner to change lengths. He wouldn’t, and the hits kept on coming. The second was even bigger. The third was smashed into the sight screen. While shimmying down the track seemed to have been working just fine, as the innings progressed, Mitchell would turn to a different skill set. Shane Watson said on air, “It’s his reach. That front foot coming out.”

In Mumbai, with spinners yet to make a mark, Mitchell already has a fifty under his name as New Zealand look to pull things back. Almost like he’s picked up from where he left in Dharamsala.

Venkata Krishna B: After losing their openers, Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell are not doing anything extraordinary to stay in the chase. They are finding the odd boundary and are looking to stay in the game. Given the batting depth they have, it is a safe approach. With wickets in hand and dew expected to set in later on, New Zealand will believe they are in with a chance. They will be looking to be anywhere around 240-250 by the 40th over. If they maintain the current run-rate they will get there. India cannot to afford to let their intensity drop.

If India had not scored what it had this partnership would have doubled the pressure it already had. Ravindra Jadeja who generally tends to be in the 90-95 KPH is today throwing the ball quicker than usual. Kuldeep on the other hand is bowling a bit on the shorter side instead of throwing the ball up. India still is ahead in the game but looking at the body language of some of the players a certain pressure is starting to take over. New Zealand was one side which tested in the league stage and today it is the same team doing it again. 

This partnership is now looking ominous. Both the batters seem to be adjusted to the pace of the surface and now are putting the pressure back on the bowlers. We had an appeal for LBW against Kane Willaimson which the umpire on-field did not give out however, it was sent upstairs and on ball tracking it showed hitting the stumps was the umpire's call. India needs to break this partnership. They only have five bowling options up their sleeve if things won't work now they cannot turn to their sixth bowling option. The crowd has gone really quiet as well. 

We are done with the first drinks break here. And it must be said despite a couple of wickets New Zealand have started well here. The Indian seamers took a bit of tapping apart Shami. India needs to pull back things here now. New Zealand is doing an excellent job of staying in the game and once the dew comes in we might see batting getting easier and that's when New Zealand batters take a lot more chances than they are doing now. Kuldeep Yadav's spell will be key for India because New Zealand might be looking to take on Kuldeep rather than trying to play risk-free cricket.

We have a slight delay here. Siraj bowled a good length delivery which climbed onto Kane Williamson and hit his forearm he seemed to be he was in pain however, he declined the physio which is a good thing. There is a banter going on between Siraj and Mitchell at the moment and sometimes in the past Siraj has shown us that aggression can get better off him and started to bowl loose ones. Today it is still not the case but looks like New Zealand have a clear plan to target Siraj among the top three seamers. 

Things have stagnated here for the last 15 minutes or so. The game has gone nowhere. Kane Williamson seems to be struggling from his end and it looks like he will be looking to stay till the end hence the onus is on someone like Mitchell to take the bowling. We also are seeing Bumrah taken out of attack and Siraj has been brought into the attack from his end. This has been a bit old-fashioned ODI-style captaincy by Rohit Sharma to keep using seamers till the 14-15 over mark. Also, it might be time to introduce spin here because of the dew which might comein later in the game.

Rachan Ravindra tried to poke the ball outside the off-stump and got the edge to the keeper Rahul. Shami picks up his second wicket of the evening. Ravindra's foot nowhere while facing the ball.

Vinayakk: Earlier in the World Cup, KL Rahul quipped in an interview to the broadcasters that wicketkeepers don't get enough credit in the game sometimes, with a cheeky smile. But a lot of credit must go to how well he has kept wickets in this tournament and also been gun when it comes to DRS decision-making for Rohit Sharma. Both in evidence here. First a superb diving catch to his left with the slip positioned wide. Then a calm shake of his head to Rohit to not review what looked like a close LBW+caught behind appeal against Williamson.

Looks like Conway's wicket has brought new life into the bowling attack. There seems to be a spring in the step of the fielders now. And all of a sudden Bumrah too looks like he has got his lines going. Kane Williamson has walked into the middle and he has a lot of work to do. The momentum has swung and looks like something is going to happen every ball. This is very smart for Rohit Sharma to introduce Mohammed Shami early into the attack his seam presentation is letting the ball move around under lights. 

It has been a mixed spell from Bumrah. The ones he is getting right they are beating the batters all ends up the ones he is not they are going for wides or boundaries. He seems to be looking to bowl the inswinger and get the batters out LBW however he is overcooking the deliveries. Mohammed Shami has been brought into attack early. We might see a change of end for Bumrah. That's the only possible reason we are seeing Siraj being replaced who has bowled well in this game. Meanwhile, Shami has picked up Devon Conway. 

Bumrah has started a bit off-colour here. He is bowling Waverly and giving a few wides away. There is movement on offer for him but his unable to get his line right at the moment and for those which he could get right Conway was in trouble. This pitch has helped the fast bowlers hugely in the second innings but we are not able to see the same amount of movement today. Siraj from the other end is bowling but Rohit's men need to pick wickets here. They need one ball to hit right which would give them a wicket. Once again this is a very different wicket to what we get here and the old ball might be difficult to bat against than this one. 

Devon Conway has started the chase well he scored a couple of sumptuous boundaries square of the wicket to start the scoring of the innings. Jasprit Bumrah who has been top-notch with his lines and lengths throughout the tournament bowled a bit wide of the stumps in that opening over which let Conway get away runs. There was also a bit of dust coming out of the surface already. It may be ideal for New Zealand to make use of this new ball and score as many runs as possible if the ball gets older it might be difficult for them to time the ball.

I said in Kolkata, the great man (Sachin Tendulkar) just congratulated me. All this feels like a dream, too good to be true. Feels surreal for me. Again a big game today, I had to play the role I have played throughout the tournament so that the guys around me can go and express themselves. Just glad everything came together so nicely and we put up a great total on the board as well. (On how he gets the consistency going) Most important thing is to make my team win and whatever it takes to do that I am ready to do that. Whether running singles and doubles, hitting boundaries... whatever the team wants me to do. I have been given a role this tournament and I have been trying to play that to the best of my abilities - try to dig deep and bat long so the guys around me can play around me and have that confidence in the later overs where I can dominate with the bat as well.

(On his celebration after reaching the hundred) As I said stuff of dreams. Anushka was sitting right there, Sachin paaji was here too. Difficult to explain this. If I could paint a perfect picture I would want this to be the picture. My life partner, the person I love the most is sitting there, my hero is sitting there and I was able to get the 50th (ODI hundred) in front of all of them and all these stands in Wankhede as well, such a history venue so it was amazing. (Assessing the team's innings) In a big game you are happy with anything over 330-340. To get close to 400 is amazing. Lot of credit has to go to Shreyas the way he came and batted freely.. Shubman and Rohit at the top, KL finishing with the flurry... I think everyone did their roles to perfection and did the job beautifully for the team. A perfect batting performance but just one half of the game is done. Still got to go out there and be professional with the ball and do the things we have done in the tournament so far.

That has been carnival from the India batting lineup. Though most of the Indian fans would be cautiously optimistic about India's chances of winning ahead of the game no one would have expected this kind of batting performance. It was Rohit who started the music with his attacking shots and then Shubman Gill took the baton and passed it on to Shreyas Iyer. While all this was happening from one end the master of ODI formant silently accumulated his runs and reached his 50th ODI ton in front of his idol Sachin Tendulkar. As per New Zealand bowling irrespective of how wicket was they just bowled poorly. The old ball gripped a bit apart from that conditions were brilliant for batting. 

There was the leap, the roar and the emotion-draining sink to his knees before Virat Kohli got up to do the gesture that brought the biggest roar in the packed stands: He raised his hands, and bowed to Sachin Tendulkar, who clapped from the stands.

He then blew a kiss to his wife, and had regained his control by then, that he even winked at someone on the field. The 50th ODI hundred shone with Kohli’s impeccable sense of timing: in Tendulkar’s home ground, under the master’s gaze, from flesh-and-blood and from the statue, in a World Cup semi-final with his family and the cricketing world including Viv Richards watching on. (Read more from Sriram Veera)

Superb innings from Shreyas Iyer come to an end. He tried to club a shot ball down the ground for a six however, was caught at long-on.  Kiwis would be relived that his onslaught has come to an end or the way he was batting it looked like he would get a boundary of every ball. 

Shreyas Iyer now gets back-to-back 100s and on the way he has hit eight sixes which is the most by an Indian in World Cup Innings. It is Iyer's innings which has let Kohli give himself time. It looked like 400 was a possibility not too long ago however, in the last 15 minutes or so things have slowed down. 

A special day for Indian cricket: 

15 November 1989: Sachin Tendulkar's debut
15 November 2013: Sachin Tendulkar's last international innings
15 November 2023: Virat Kohli's 50th ODI century

Iyer has got into 90s. While the narrative has been about Kohli's 50th ton Iyer has been smacking the ball all around the park. Since that knock against Sri Lanka Iyer has been in scintillating form as well. The way the New Zealand bowlers are looking tired India should be looking to get 400 from here and it is very doable. 

Finally, the innings by Kohli came to an end as the great man tried to flick the ball on the leg-side and caught at deep mid-wicket. It has been a marvellous inning. He walks back to a rousing reception from the crowd here. KL Rahul walks into the middle.

Tendulkar stand in front of him, statue to his left and the man himself sitting behind him, watching from the grand stand, Kohli surpasses his idol's record. Kohli removes his helmet and gloves and bows down to tendulkar reports Mihir Vasavda

Virat Kohli is suffering with cramps now. He is in his 90s. He has been treated by the physio. He looked a bit jittery initially after the treatment seems like he is settled down now. We can also see a puff of dust coming out as the spinners are operating. This is going turn in the second innings for sure and New Zealand have to take their chances against Indian new ball unit which is an uphill task as well. 

Tushar Bhaduri: It is often advised that players should treat a knockout encounter as 'just another game' to take out the pressure from the occasion and be relaxed in a high-stakes encounter. India, for once, seemed to be following the suggestion to a T. As they went about compiling a formidable total, it didn't feel any different from the league encounter against Sri Lanka at the same venue almost two weeks ago. Some teams falter on the big stage while some are inspired to be at their best. Even Virat Kohli, who had often disappointed in World Cup knockout games, seemed at ease against a team that has often been India's nemesis in big games.

Shreyas gets to his fourth 50 of the World Cup. It has been another brilliant innings from him. When the boundaries are small there is no better batter than Iyer in this side. His willingness to take the bowlers on supports this kind of grounds. Also, there seems to be a genuine effort from the Indian batters not to take any chances against Santner and see him take on other bowlers. Though the wicket is on the slower side Santner could not extract much out of the surface only time will be if Indian spinners can get something out of the surface.