India captain Rohit Sharma felt his side could never relax as they closed out a 70-run win over New Zealand to reach the World Cup final following Virat Kohli’s record-breaking 50th ODI century in Mumbai.
Sachin Tendulkar was in his home city to witness first-hand Kohli set a new benchmark in ODIs with a typically assured 117 off 113 balls which laid the foundations for India’s mammoth 397 for four.
New Zealand then battled hard in the chase, but hopes of a third successive World Cup final appearance were dashed despite Daryl Mitchell’s fine 134 as they were all out for 327 as Mohammed Shami took a career-best seven for 57.
Rohit, though, admitted he had never taken victory as assured as the 1983 and 2011 champions kept on course for victory on home soil.
“I have played a lot of cricket here, any score on this ground, you can’t relax. Got to get the job done quickly and stay at it,” Rohit said in his post-match presentation interview.
“We knew there would be pressure on us. We were very calm, even though we were a bit sloppy on the field.
“These things are bound to happen, but glad we could get the job done.
“The form all the guys are in, top five or six batters, whenever they’ve gotten an opportunity, they’ve made it count.”
Rohit added: “Being the semi-final, I won’t say there was no pressure, whenever you play there’s pressure, but a semi-final adds a bit extra.
“We wanted to not think too much about it, just do what we’ve been doing like in the first nine games. Things came off for us nicely in the second half.”
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 which included 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.
Reflecting on his achievement, Kohli said: “It is the stuff of dreams.
“It is very difficult for me to explain this, but if I could paint a perfect picture, I would want this to be the picture.
“My life partner, the person I love the most, she’s sitting there (in the stands). My hero (Tendulkar) he’s sitting there. And I was able to get the 50th in front of all of them and all these fans in such a historic venue. It was amazing.”
India gained a measure of revenge for being dumped out at the same stage of the 2019 tournament by the Black Caps.
Shami said: “It feels amazing. In the last two World Cups, we lost (in the semi-finals), so who knows when or if we will get a chance again.
“We wanted to do everything for this, one chance we didn’t want to let go.”
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson was proud of his side’s efforts.
“Firstly, congrats to India, they played outstandingly well, probably their best game today,” he said. “400 was naturally going to be tough, but credit to the guys, proud effort to stay in the fight.
“It is disappointing to go out, but I am super proud of the effort that has gone in for the last seven weeks.
“The effort was there, but India are top class, have world-class batters who didn’t give us a sniff really.
“You come in and get 400, it’s a tick in the box. They deserve to be where they are, played outstandingly well.
“It wasn’t to be today, but it was nice to be out there to give ourselves a chance.
“It was a fantastic crowd, unbelievable atmosphere, slightly one-sided in the support, but special to be part of the tournament.”
Kevin Sinclair replaced by Junior Sinclair in Harpy Eagles Super50 squad after internal report to GCB
All-rounder Kevin Sinclair will take no further part in the Guyana Harpy Eagles CG United Super50 Cup campaign in Trinidad and Tobago. The decision made by the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) followed the submission of an internal report by the Harpy Eagles' management team that it was necessary to replace the player.
The GCB, in making the revelation, also announced that Kevin Sinclair will be replaced by Junior Sinclair in the squad at the tournament.
Though the GCB’s statement did not clarify if sub-standard performance is the reason behind Kevin Sinclair’s ejection from the squad, it pointed out that it was a “necessary squad adjustment.”
“Following an internal report from the Guyana Harpy Eagles management, it has been decided that Kevin Sinclair will no longer be participating in this year’s competition,” the statement read.
In the three matches played in the Super50 Cup, Kevin Sinclair tallied 14 runs and snared three wickets.
He made 14 from 16 balls against Windward Volcanoes and took 2-66 from 10 overs in the same match.
However, he did not bat in the rained-out contest against Combined Campuses and Colleges Marooners and was dismissed without a score against Barbados Pride and only took 1-26 from 10 overs in that same match.
The Guyana Harpy Eagles are winless after three matches.
A similar situation arose last year during the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) T20 tournament when organisers announced Kevin left the Guyana Amazon Warriors squad for “personal reasons.”
Kevin Sinclair’s departure opens the door for Junior Sinclair to take up a spot in the Harpy Eagles squad ahead of Tuesday’s contest against Leeward Islands Hurricanes at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy.
Guyana Harpy Eagles Squad: Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Matthew Nandu, Tevin Imlach (captain), Kevlon Anderson, Kemol Savory, Junior Sinclair, Keemo Paul (vice-captain), Ronaldo Aimohamed, Veerasammy Permaul, Isai Thorne, Ashmead Nedd, Nial Smith, Sylus Tyndall, Rampertab Ramnauth.
Salt confirmed as England wicketkeeper despite Buttler return for West Indies T20Is
Phil Salt will be wicketkeeper in England’s upcoming T20I series against West Indies as white-ball captain Jos Buttler looks to improve his captaincy.
Buttler has been ruled out with a calf strain but will return to England's squad for the five-match T20I series that begins on Saturday.
Until now, Salt has kept in just 13 of his 59 England appearances across all formats but has taken up the mantle for the ongoing ODI series against West Indies.
Buttler, on the other hand, has donned the gloves in 106 of his 108 T20Is.
Salt, though, is enjoying his new role.
"It's not something I've done a lot for England recently, but I enjoy keeping. I feel like that's where I offer most to the side," Salt said, as reported by ESPN.
"We've not had a chat about anything going forward. I'm just glad to be doing it at the moment."
While Salt is not guaranteed the gloves after this series, he will find comfort in Buttler's intent to optimise his captaincy by experimenting with a role in the field.
"I was going to give up the gloves and commit to being at mid-off and see how that felt. If it will help me with my captaincy it is something I am open to," Buttler told Sky Sports in September after being ruled out of the T20 series against Australia.
England are tied 1-1 in their ODI series against the West Indies with the decider to be played on Wednesday.
West Indies Academy secures first win of the season with 22-run DLS method victory over CCC
The West Indies Academy recorded their first win of the 2024 CG United Super50 Cup season with a 22-run DLS method win over the Combined Campuses and Colleges at the Sir Frank Worrell Memorial Ground in St. Augustine on Monday.
CCC, who were also seeking their first win of the season, were first dismissed for 174 in 39.5 overs after winning the toss and batting first.
Experienced opener Kieran Powell top scored with 46 off 42 balls including eight fours while Shaqkere Parris made 40 and Johann Jeremiah hit 33.
Jediah Blades continued his good form with the ball this season with 3-23 from six overs and was well supported by Zishan Motara who took 3-31 from his 10 overs.
Joshua Bishop also bowled well with 2-25 from 6.5 overs.
In reply, the Academy were 167-7 off 40.5 overs, 22 runs ahead of the DLS par score when the rain brought an end to proceedings.
Andrew Rambaran and Johann Layne put together a crucial eighth wicket partnership, helping the Academy recover from 118-7 in the 29th over.
Rambaran finished 37* while Layne finished 25* off 28 balls including two fours and two sixes.
Earlier, Rivaldo Clarke top scored with 38. Romario Greaves was excellent with the ball for the CCC with 5-45 from his 10 overs while the other two wickets were split between Akeem Jordan and Abhijai Mansingh.
Full Scores:
Combined Campuses and Colleges 174 off 39.5 overs (Kieran Powell 46, Shaqkere Parris 40, Johann Jeremiah 33, Jediah Blades 3-23, Zishan Motara 3-31, Joshua Bishop 2-25)
West Indies Academy 167-7 off 40.5 overs (Rivaldo Clarke 38, Andrew Rambaran 37*, Johann Layne 25*, Romario Greaves 5-45).
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