Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer tons power India to 397/4
Virat Kohli scored his record-breaking 50th ODI hundred and Shreyas Iyer scored his second successive one - off just 67 balls - to take India a giant leap towards burying New Zealand under a mountain of runs and reaching the final of the World Cup. Kohli and Iyer's efforts came after Rohit set the stage up with a blazing start while Gill too was among the runs until the sweltering Mumbai heat got to him.
Rohit Sharma went about business as usual after winning the toss and opting to bat, as he hit over mid-wicket and through covers against Trent Boult in the first over. The left-armer got no swing and was forced to change his angle to round the stumps in just his second over after Rohit gave him the charge and smashed a six over extra cover. Rohit's brutality stretched to Tim Southee too, as short balls received the treatment it usually does from the opener. In the fifth over, Rohit hit his third six of the innings - and 50th in World Cups, overtaking Chris Gayle's tally of most sixes in the history of the showpiece event.
Kane Williamson had to turn to Mitchell Santner as early as the sixth over, who too was taken apart by Rohit as he audaciously moved to 45 off just 22. In the ninth over, Rohit tried to drill a big shot down the ground but didn't get the timing right on a clever change of pace from Southee. Kane Williamson covered quite a lot of ground from mid off, paced backwards and completed an excellent catch to send his opposite number packing. Shubman Gill however, ensured India didn't step off the gas as he treated Lockie Ferguson's first three overs with disdain, dispatching all the short balls on either side of the square boundary. New Zealand's four specialist bowlers ploy was under the pump after Ferguson was hit for runs and Rachin Ravindra also started off with a 10-run over in which Gill brought up his 41-ball 50. Even as Kohli began slowly, Gill kept the boundaries flowing, taking India to 150/1 in 20 overs.
Gill was primed for his first World Cup century, but cramps got the better of him in the Mumbai heat, as he needed the physio's attention between overs for his left leg and back. In the 23rd over, he retired hurt on 79 off 65. Shreyas Iyer walked out and Williamson straightaway brought back Ferguson to test the No.4 batter with the short ball but Iyer navigated past it to lay into the spinners in the company of Kohli. In the 28th over, Kohli brought up his eighth hundred of the World Cup - the most in a single edition, going past Sachin Tendulkar and Shakib Al Hasan's tally.
Williamson's effort to put a lid on the easy flow of runs by bringing back Boult and Southee was met with resistance as Kohli used his feet against both to get a four and a six respectively. Iyer meanwhile, saw through Southee's ruse of repeatedly using the slower ball and clobbered him for a six over midwicket. After getting 84 runs in the first 10 overs, India consolidated well with 66 and 64 in the next two sets of 10, but Iyer and Kohli found a way to nudge it even further with 73 in the next 10. From 287/1 in 40 overs, India were set for a big finish. Before that came about, Kohli got to his milestone century, which cued some emotional celebrations from India's No.3 batter. Iyer meanwhile showed off his spin-hitting prowess as he went after Ravindra, who conceded 60 off 7 overs. Even the pacers struggled to keep Iyer in check as he flew to a 67-ball century in the 48th over.
India hit 110 in the last 10 overs with even New Zealand's seasoned bowlers going for plenty of runs. Boult went for 86 in his 10 overs while Southee leaked 100 as his plan to take pace off didn't yield the desired results beyond Rohit's wicket. Ferguson bowled only 8 for his 65 while the part-time spin pair of Glenn Phillips and Rachin Ravindra went for 93 in 12 overs combined.
Brief Scores: India 397/4 in 50 overs (Virat Kohli 117, Shreyas Iyer 105, Shubman Gill 80; Tim Southee 3-100) vs New Zealand
Source: Cricbuzz
