Virat Kohli was the talk of the town, once again, as he raced past Indian icon Sachin Tendulkar to record his 50th One Day Internationals ton in front of none other than the master himself. Kohli scored 117 off 113 before being caught by Devon Conway off a Tim Southee delivery. The damage had been done by then, however, as India pitched a target of 397 for their opponents to chase. (Match Blog | Scorecard | Preview | Key Battles)
As those inside the Wankhede rose to their feet in awe, so did those watching and commenting from afar. Here's what social media made of Kohli's knock:
India won the toss and chose to bat in the first semi-final of ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 in Mumbai on Wednesday, November 15. India are playing the same XI as in their previous game against Netherlands, and New Zealand too are unchanged. The toss assumes importance at the Wankhede Stadium where the ball tends to swing a lot more under lights and the average second innings score has been 188 as against 357 in the first innings.
Happy to win the toss, India captain Rohit Sharma said: "It looks like a good pitch and on the slower side as well. I think it was way back in 2019 when we played that semi-final. New Zealand has been one of the most consistent teams over the years and it will be a good contest. I think it's a very important day, but you've to turn up on that particular day."
Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson said they would have had a bat first as well if they won the toss. "Obviously, a used surface and hopefully some dew in the evening. Looking forward to the challenge ahead. It should be a good game. Both teams have seen a variety of conditions and it's knockout cricket really," Williamson added.
Playing XIs
India: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj.
New Zealand: Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson (C), Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (wk), Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult.
