India-NZ WC semifinal: Kohli, Shreyas lead India to record 397/4

Mumbai: India finished with a high score against New Zealand in the first semifinal of the 2023 ODI World Cup at the Wankhede Stadium here as Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer smashed centuries to lead India to a mammoth 397/5 in the first innings.

The Kiwis now need 398 runs to win against India and qualify for the World Cup 2023 semi-finals.

Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bat first against New Zealand. Rohit and Shubman Gill put up 71 runs for the first wicket.

Gill scored his 13th ODI fifty and he and Virat Kohli kept up their fast-paced scoring after India lost Rohit. Gill went off the pitch after getting injured. Shreyas Iyer, too, scored a century off just 67 balls.

Virat Kohli created history as he surpassed legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar with his 50th ODI century. He also became the second Indian batter to have a World Cup 100 against New Zealand after Sunil Gavaskar.

Also Read:Man arrested for black marketing tickets of men's cricket WC semi-final tickets

'All this feels like a dream, too good to be true. Feels surreal for me. Again a big game today, I had to play the role I have played throughout the tournament so that the guys around me can go and express themselves. Just glad everything came together so nicely and we put up a great total on the board as well', said Kohli, reports India Express.

Team India is the highest-ranked side in the ICC World Cup points table with 9 wins from their 9 matches so far and has performed well in the tournament so far.

A multitude of celebrities graced the India-Newzealand match, including David Beckham, Sidharth Malhotra, Kiara Advani, Anushka Sharma, Ranbir Kapoor, John Abraham, Shahid Kapoor and many others.

According to several reports, superstars Rajinikanth and Amitabh Bachchan were also watching the match live from the stadium.

India and New Zealand World Cup squads:

India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, Prasidh Krishna, Suryakumar Yadav.

New Zealand squad: Kane Williamson (c), Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitch Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Will Young.

Also Read:Pak cricketer Abdul Razzaq eats his words on Aishwarya Rai, apologises