Battle-hardened by tough win over New Zealand, India await final test in Cricket World Cup

MUMBAI – Unbeaten India passed their first real test in the Cricket World Cup in the semi-final against New Zealand on Wednesday, and the hosts will hope that the win over their bogey team will make them battle-hardened for the final.

Australia sealed their place in the final following a nervy three-wicket victory against South Africa in the second semi-final on Thursday.

They bowled out South Africa for a below-par 212 despite David Miller’s defiant 101.

Australia eventually reached the target with 16 balls to spare. with Steve Smith (30) and Jos Inglis (28) providing useful cameos.

India arrived at the Wankhede Stadium – where they lifted their second and last World Cup trophy in 2011 – looking invincible.

They won all nine round-robin matches without any stiff challenge, including a four-wicket victory over the Kiwis.

But then the Black Caps had also ended India’s strong run at the same stage of the 2019 edition, while Kane Williamson’s team also beat them in the inaugural World Test Championship final in 2021.

India had also exited the 2015 World Cup in the semi-finals, beaten by Australia.

“Today being the semi-finals, I wouldn’t say that there was no pressure,” India captain Rohit Sharma said, adding that the team wanted to treat the match as just another round-robin game.

“Whenever you play the game, there is always pressure, and obviously, semi-final adds a bit of extra there. But I think the guys were doing the job.”

As Daryl Mitchell and Williamson grew in confidence during their third-wicket stand of 181 during New Zealand’s chase of 398, the stadium went silent.

Millions of fans across the country probably wondered if the Black Caps would be the cause of another heartbreak for India.

“It was important to stay calm. At one point, the crowd went absolutely silent, that’s the nature of the game,” Sharma added.

“But we knew that we had to pull something up from our sleeves and need a magic, either a good catch or a run-out or maybe a magic delivery.”

Fast bowler Mohammed Shami provided that touch of magic with 7-57 – the best figures by an Indian in a one-day international and also his third five-wicket haul in the tournament, taking him to the top of the wicket-takers list with 23.

India looked uncharacteristically sloppy on the field against New Zealand, with Shami dropping a fairly simple catch off Williamson, Ravindra Jadeja giving away overthrows and the hosts also muddling up run-out opportunities.

After their 70-run victory, Sharma will be hoping that his team leave the mistakes behind in the final against Australia.

“We knew there would be pressure on us at some stage,” he said. “We just had to stay collected.

“That’s what we did. We were very calm even though we were sloppy in the field. These things are bound to happen.

“But I’m glad that we could get the job done in the end.” REUTERS