For the first time in their World Cup campaign, India displayed signs of panic when they gave up misfields and overthrows in their 397-run defense against New Zealand on Wednesday, November 15, at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.
After the 2019 finalists lost their opening pair, Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra, early in the chase, things were heating up between Daryl Mitchell and Kane Williamson as they stitched together a century partnership in the 23rd over.
Captain Rohit Sharma was not impressed by the all-rounder’soverthrow,so Ravindra Jadeja was put on notice. In the last delivery of the twenty-third over, Kane Williamson stepped down the track and tapped a delivery back to the bowler. When Williamson charged down at him, Jadeja was unimpressed and threw the ball back, missing the mark by a wide margin. KL Rahul, the wicketkeeper, missed the ball as well.
There was nobody to support the throw behind the stumps, so the ball went for four overthrows. Turning to face Jadeja, Captain Rohit Sharma questioned the necessity of the throw that gave the BlackCaps four easy runs.
India won nine out of nine matches in the World Cup league stage by maintaining a high standard of fielding. But in the semi-final, their fielding was careless and well below the standard they had set for themselves.
After reaching his 45th ODI fifty, Mohammed Shami gave Kane Williamson a break a few overs later by fielding a sitter at mid-on. The bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, was upset that Williamson was given another chance. In the point region, Bumrah allowed a boundary to pass through his legs while India remained careless in the middle.
By reaching their fifties and establishing a partnership of 150 runs or more, Williamson and Mitchell somewhat relieved the pressure on the Indian bowlers.
Earlier in the day, India destroyed the bowlers from New Zealand to score 397 runs in 50 overs, shattering the record for the highest total scored in a World Cup knockout match.
While his opening partner Shubman Gill managed to hit 80 not out despite experiencing cramps, Rohit Sharma set the tone with a blistering 47 off 29 balls. The highlight of the afternoon for India was Virat Kohli, who struck his 50th wicket in an ODI to send the Wankhede into a frenzy of applause.
Before KL Rahul struck a rapid forty, Shreyas Iyer provided the spark in the middle overs with a score of 105 off just 70 balls.
