India avenge against NZ in WC 2023. India finally broke its jinx against New Zealand in the match played at Dharmashala, Himachal Pradesh. Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bowl first. In the initial 10 overs, India managed to contain New Zealand's run rate. However, the absence of a sixth seamer, due to Hardik Pandya's injury and Shardul Thakur's exclusion, was a significant setback.
This became evident as New Zealand's batsmen, led by Ravindra and Mitchell, took advantage of the spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja. Kuldeep Yadav struggled, conceding 32 runs in his first three overs, a sharp contrast to the initial 10 overs where Indian seamers dominated, with Mohammed Shami even dismissing Will Young with his first ball.India had to rely heavily on Jadeja, who bowled 10 consecutive overs, ending with figures of 0/48. In the last 10 overs, Mohammed Shami's five-wicket haul led India's recovery.
Despite Mitchell and Ravindra's 159-run partnership, New Zealand's run rate slowed down in the final 10 overs, and they lost six wickets. Mitchell played a remarkable innings, scoring 130 in 127 balls, but New Zealand could only manage 54 runs in the last 10 overs.India, set a target of 274, successfully chased it down with two overs to spare.
Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill provided a blistering start, adding 71 runs for the first wicket before Rohit was dismissed for 46 off 40 balls by Lockie Ferguson. Gill also fell shortly after, scoring 26 off 31 balls.Virat Kohli played a key role in India's run chase but narrowly missed a century, getting dismissed for 95 off 104 balls. By the time he was out, New Zealand's chances of winning were already slim. During his innings, Kohli built crucial partnerships, including 52 with Shreyas Iyer, 54 with KL Rahul, and 78 with Ravindra Jadeja, who contributed with an unbeaten 39 off 44 balls.