Virat Kohli’s record-breaking 50th ODI century saw him leapfrog the great Sachin Tendulkar and propel India into a fourth World Cup final following a 70-run win over New Zealand.
Tendulkar was in his home city of Mumbai to witness first-hand Kohli set a new benchmark in ODIs with a typically assured 117 off 113 balls that laid the foundations for India’s mammoth 397 for four.
After moving to three figures off 106 balls, Kohli leapt and punched the air, briefly sunk to his knees before rising and soaking up the acclaim from a frenzied crowd, including Tendulkar and David Beckham.
Tendulkar wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, he “couldn’t be happier that an Indian broke my record” as Kohli moved into a class of his own in his 291st ODI – 172 fewer than his former team-mate.
New Zealand battled hard in the chase but their hopes of a third successive World Cup final appearance were dashed despite an excellent 134 from 119 balls from Daryl Mitchell as they were all out for 327.
Fast bowler Mohammed Shami’s career-best seven for 57 took him to the top of the tournament’s wicket-taking charts after only six outings and was instrumental as the 1983 and 2011 champions gained a measure of revenge for being dumped out at the same stage of the 2019 tournament by the Black Caps.
After ending a run of semi-final defeats and claiming a 10th straight win in a tournament they are dominating, India can look forward to a showdown against either Australia or South Africa on Sunday.
There was controversy before the toss because of a late switch from a fresh to a used pitch but Kohli’s landmark innings, containing nine fours and two sixes, relegated the issue to a mere subplot.
Rohit Sharma lit the touchpaper for an India onslaught after they won the toss with 47 off 29 deliveries, while Shubman Gill contributed an unbeaten 80 off 66 balls despite struggling with cramp.
Kohli moved quickly through the gears alongside first Gill, who retired hurt on 79 before returning late on, then Shreyas Iyer, who thumped eight of India’s 19 sixes in his 105 off 70 deliveries.
This was Kohli’s day, though, and he got to his ton with a slap across the line, coming back for a second run before taking in the acclaim as Kiwi captain Kane Williamson offered his congratulations.
Kohli eventually holed out to deep backward square-leg off Tim Southee, who claimed three for 100, but India buttressed their total by adding 110 in the last 10 overs as New Zealand’s bowlers were flayed.
The 2015 and 2019 finalists slipped to 39 for two as Shami brushed the outside edges of Devon Conway then Rachin Ravindra but Williamson and Mitchell combined for 181 off 149 balls to frustrate India.
Mitchell was especially attacking – thumping seven sixes overall – and when Shami spilled a simple chance at mid-on when Williamson was on 52, the momentum was creeping slowly towards New Zealand.
Shami, though, atoned when Williamson miscued into the deep on 69 and Tom Latham was lbw two balls later to put India back in the driving seat, shortly after Mitchell had brought up an 85-ball hundred.
Mitchell kept plugging away but the required run-rate spiralled well into double figures before he gave Shami his five-for after whipping to Ravindra Jadeja on the boundary, and with him went New Zealand’s hopes.
Shami bagged Southee and Lockie Ferguson in the penultimate over to become the fifth bowler and first Indian to record a seven-wicket haul in a World Cup match as New Zealand were all out with seven balls unused.
Kevin Wickham and Academy bowlers combine to crush Emerging Ireland by 432 runs at Coolidge
As was expected, West Indies Academy inflicted a soul-crushing defeat on Emerging Island in their four-day match at the Coolidge Cricket Ground on Wednesday to take a 2-0 lead in the series. Having been set a nigh-impossible target of 575 runs, the tourists wilted under the pressure and we bowled out for 143, thus losing by a mammoth 432 runs.
Having resumed from their overnight total of 172-4, for an already significant lead of 432 runs, West Indies Academy, spurred by Kevin Wickham’s unbeaten 105 and contributions of 32 from Nyeem Young and 22 from McKenny Clarke, eventually declared on 321-8.
The spark in the dark for Emerging Ireland was the haul of 5-75 by Tom Hayes, who got some support from Michael Frost whose two wickets came at the cost of 136 runs from 32 overs.
With a target of almost 600 runs, Emerging Ireland were never up to the task against a rested and confident West Indies Academy bowling attack led by Joshua Bishop who snagged 4-36 and Clarke, who bowled miserly for 2-16 from six overs.
Lower-order batter Liam McCarty offered the most resistance with a knock of 35 not out. Otherwise, opener Stephen Doheny was the only other batter who got into the 20s, with 23.
Hosein stars as NY Strikers go top of the table after Bulls sink to record low
Delhi Bulls sank to the lowest total in the Abu Dhabi T10's seven-year history, folding for just 31 despite having Quinton de Kock, Johnson Charles, James Vince, Rilee Rossouw, Rovman Powell, Ravi Bopara and Dwayne Bravo in their ranks, to give New York Strikers their third win and a spot at the top of the table for now.
If you score 98 for 4 in a ten-overs-a-side tournament where three figures are breached quite often, you expect to have it tough in the second half, but it was certainly not the case on the day for Strikers at the Zayed Cricket Stadium on Monday.
Two wickets fell in the first over of the chase, to Akeal Hosein (3 for 7), one each in the second and third, and three in the fifth to Chamika Karunaratne (3 for 6). That was the end of the specialist batters bar Bopara, who was the only Bulls batter to get into double-digits with 16.
The Bulls were bowled out with three balls left in the innings after four batters fell for ducks.
In the first half, Rahmanullah Gurbaz dominated proceedings with a 24-ball 49 not out, as Strikers reached what was a just-about-par score of 98… it proved more than three times what Bulls could manage on the day.
Bulls have now lost two on the bounce after starting with three wins in a row, and are still up at No. 3 on the table, while Strikers, after starting with a loss, have now won three in a row.
Rehan Ahmed rejects Sir Alastair Cook’s criticism of Jos Buttler’s captaincy
Rehan Ahmed defended Jos Buttler’s captaincy following criticism of his tactical acumen by Sir Alastair Cook after England started their tour of the Caribbean on a losing note.
Several of Buttler’s decisions were scrutinised during a calamitous World Cup defence and England’s new era in ODIs made a false start as they were beaten by a Shai Hope-inspired West Indies on Sunday.
Having been strangled by spin duo Ahmed and Liam Livingstone, the Windies needed 101 in the last nine overs but they feasted on England’s pace bowlers to win with four wickets and seven balls to spare.
Cook, the former England captain and their record Test run-scorer, wondered on TNT Sports afterwards whether Buttler could have juggled his resources better during the Windies’ successful chase and deployed Will Jacks’ off-spin in the middle overs to take the pressure off the seamers at the death.
But 19-year-old leg-spinner Ahmed said: “Jos is an unbelievable captain. It’s just his call.
“We were in a great position by the end of it. It wasn’t like there was bad decisions throughout the game.
“I don’t think you can put anything down to Jacksy not bowling. I felt like we were always in the game even right to the end.
“We just didn’t execute at the end. We were always still in the game.”
Buttler’s lean patch with the bat also continued at the weekend after being dismissed for three, his fifth single figure score in eight innings while he is averaging 14.1 since the start of the World Cup.
Ahmed said: “Every time I bowl to him in the nets, he smacks me everywhere. Some people can be short of runs sometimes but he’s still Jos Buttler. He’s probably the best white-ball player I’ve bowled to.”
Sam Curran felt the full might of the Windies’ power hitting as he leaked 98 from 9.5 overs and the most expensive ODI figures by an England bowler came with the extra indignity of being pummelled for three sixes in four balls as unbeaten centurion Hope got his side over the line.
Curran’s fortunes have nosedived since being named player of the tournament in England’s triumphant T20 World Cup campaign last year.
Dropped after three innocuous showings at the 50-over World Cup – averaging 11.66 and 70 with bat and ball respectively – the 25-year-old made an important 38 off 26 balls at the weekend, although that was overshadowed by what followed.
Ahmed, who was the pick of England’s attack with two for 40, has backed Curran to demonstrate his resilience in the second ODI of the three-match series on Wednesday.
He said: “After losing a game and if you’ve been hit around then I don’t think you’ll be very happy with it.
“The thing is, Sam is an unbelievable player – everyone knows he is as well, so I’m sure the next game he’ll probably get a five-for, he’ll be good.”
It is understood Ahmed’s younger brother Farhan will be selected on Tuesday in England’s squad for the Under-19 World Cup, which is set to be held in South Africa from January 13 to February 4 next year.
The 15-year-old is an off-spinner by trade and although his elder sibling cracked a couple of jokes at his expense, there is the prospect of two Ahmeds in an England side in the future.
Ahmed joked: “He bowls a lot of dot balls so he’ll be quite boring and I don’t expect (him to hit) too many sixes. But no, I’m very happy for him, he’s very young and he’s been picked for such a big thing.
“He’s quite exciting for an off-spinner, which is quite surprising. But I think he’ll go well. I’m very chuffed for him.
“I play with my older brother and younger brother and dad in club cricket and it’s the best ever feeling.
“As many of us that can play together it’s always going to be good. Whether it’s for England for county for school for a club, anything.
“Playing alongside family is always a great feeling.”
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