’20 saal ka intezaar kahtam’ – Fans react as India beat New Zealand after gap of 20 years in ODI World Cup

India and New Zealand clashed against each other in the 21st match of the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023 at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday, October 22. The Men in Blue displayed a brilliant all-round performance to defeat the Blackcaps by 4 wickets.

Talking about the match, India won the toss and elected to field first and the decision proved right as Indian pacers displayed a magnificent bowling performance in the powerplay by dismissing 2 New Zealand batters on just 19 runs. It looked like the Blackcaps’ batting order would suffer a collapse but it didn’t happen as Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell steadied the ship from there.

The Indian fielders let both Kiwi batters settle on the pitch as they dropped their catches multiple times. Mitchell and Ravindra stitched a massive 159-run stand for the 3rd wicket. But Mohammed Shami provided the much-need breakthrough by dismissing Ravindra in the 34th over on 75 runs.

Mitchell held his ground on one end, but he lacked support from the other batters. Shami returned for his final spell and claimed a five-wicket haul. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj maintained a tight grip on the game, preventing the Kiwi batters from making significant progress. The innings witnessed dramatic fluctuations, starting at 19 for 2, reaching 178 for 3, and eventually concluding at 273 all-out.

Brilliant batting performance by Virat Kohli

Chasing the target, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill provided a powerful start to the team by stitching a 71-run stand for the first wicket. Rohit was dropped twice while batting and he captilised the chances beautifully by smashing 46 runs off just 40 balls which included 4 fours and as many sixes.

Gill went back to the pavilion after scoring 25 runs, Lockie Ferguson dismissed both Rohit and Gill. Virat Kohli, as usual, kept the one end safe and batted responsibly. The batters from the other end got the start but couldn’t capitalise on it. However, Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja sealed the deal with a winning partnership of 78 runs. Unfortunately, Kohli missed his 49th ODI century by 5 runs and also failed to equal the record of former legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar.

Here’s how fans reacted:

https://twitter.com/TasneemKhatai/status/1716133145698054432