Virat Kohli anchored another run chase successfully as India became the table toppers of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 beating New Zealand in the "battle of undefeated". It was India's first win over New Zealand in an ICC tournament since 2003.
Chasing New Zealand's 273 to win at Dharamshala's HPCA Stadium, Ravindra Jadeja (39*) hit the winning runs shortly after Kohli fell five runs short of a much-deserved ton. The Men In Blue had four wickets and 12 balls in hand when they crossed the victory line.
Both sides entered the contest with eight points from 4 games. However, the Kiwis were top of the table thanks to their superior Net Run Rate over the home side. Following Sunday's game, India, now the only undefeated team in the tournament, further strengthened their chances of progressing in the tournament.
Earlier, Man of the Match Mohammed Shami helped India to contain New Zealand to 273 after Daryl Mitchell (130 off 127) and Rachin Ravindra (75 off 87) gave them a strong start.
India vs New Zealand ODI World Cup match: As it happened
'King Kohli' played a near blemish-free knock and shared three crucial 50-run stands with Shreyas Iyer (33), KL Rahul (27) and Ravindra Jadeja to guide his side home.
With India on the cusp of victory, Kohli went for the record-equalling 49th ODI hundred but much to the disappointment of a packed crowd at the HPCA stadium, he was caught in the deep.
Chasing 274, Shubman Gill (26) relied on his exquisite timing to find boundaries, while Rohit Sharma (46) played the power game.
Gill drove Trent Boult through extra cover and square to pick up back-to-back boundaries in the seventh over. He then flicked Matt Henry through mid-on and midwicket to bring up India's 50 in just 7.4 overs.
Rohit looked in ominous touch as he just planted his foot forward and lap-swept Henry to the backward square leg boundary and then followed it up with a six over mid-off two balls later.
Rohit was lucky as he was dropped by New Zealand skipper Tom Latham behind the stumps off Mitchell Santner in the next over and he punished the left-arm spinner by tonking him over deep midwicket for a six the very next ball.
But Rohit failed to cash in as he dragged a Lockie Ferguson delivery onto the stumps in the next over to end the dangerous-looking 71-run opening stand.
Ferguson dealt another blow to India in his next over in the form of Gill, who was caught by Mitchell at deep third-man boundary.
Kohli then took the innings forward with the help of Iyer (33 off 29) and K L Rahul (27 off 35).
However, two quick wickets of Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav made things little difficult for India before Kohli bailed out the hosts with a 78-run sixth-wicket stand with Jadeja (39 not out).
While Rahul fell LBW to Mitchell Santner, Surya was a victim of an unnecessary mix up with Kohli as India slumped to 191 for 5. Kohli, however, failed to match Sachin Tendulkar's record of 49 centuries as he departed in the 48th over while going for a six. His knock was studded with eight fours and two sixes.
India, though, had a rare ordinary day in the field and were guilty of dropping three catches. Kuldeep Yadav (2/73) was the most expensive bowler but got the important wickets of Tom Lathan and Glenn Phillips.
Sent into bat, Mitchell and Rachin Ravindra (75 off 87 balls) rescued New Zealand after a poor start, sharing 159 runs off 152 balls for the third wicket. Jasprit Bumrah (1/45) and Mohammed Siraj (1/45), also played their part well.
The start was far from rosy for New Zealand who lost Devon Conway early. The left-hander flicked a Mohammed Siraj delivery straight to Shreyas Iyer at forward square leg in the fourth over.
Introduced into the attack in the ninth over, Shami struck with his first ball of the tournament by removing Will Young, who played on to an incoming delivery. Regarded as one of India's best fielders, Ravindra Jadeja dropped a sitter at point of Shami's bowling to hand Ravindra a life. Ravindra cashed in on the chance with both hands and together with Mitchell forged a much needed partnership to stabilise the innings. The duo was particularly severe against Kuldeep Yadav, clobbering the left-arm spinner for three huge sixes straight over his head.
Ravindra brought up his fifty off 56 balls, while Mitchell's half-century came in 60 deliveries.
The Indians were sloppy on the field as Mitchell also got a reprieve on 69 in the 33rd over when Jasprit Bumrah dropped an easy chance at the long-off boundary. Shami finally broke the partnership in the next over when Ravindra failed to clear the long-on boundary, handing a simple catch to Shubman Gill.
Ravindra's wicket hardly bothered Mitchell who continued to play aggressively, smashing the Indian bowlers with disdain as New Zealand brought up their 200 in 36.1 overs. Kuldeep, who was put under pressure for the first time in the competition, finally tasted success when he had New skipper Tom Latham LBW with a wrong one.
India pulled things back significantly by picking up six wickets in the last six overs for only 30 runs.
Brief Scores: New Zealand 273 in 50 overs (Daryl Mitchell 130, Rachin Ravindra 75; Mohammed Shami 5/54). India: 274 for 6 in 48 overs (Virat Kohli 95, Rohit Sharma 46; Lockie Ferguson 2/63)
- With PTI inputs
