ODI World Cup 2023 Twitter Reactions

'Iss baar cup humara hai' - Fans react as India defeat New Zealand by four wickets in ODI World Cup 2023

In the match number 21 of the ODI World Cup 2023 saw the table toppers or arguably the best two sides of the tournament up against each other.

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Sarah Andrew
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Virat Kohli (Source: Twitter)

In the match number 21 of the ODI World Cup 2023 saw the table toppers or arguably the best two sides of the tournament up against each other. The game also panned out in a see saw-game way but eventually, it was India who won essential battles and won the match by four wickets. With this win the Indian team have solidified the first spot on the points table with five wins out of five games. On the contrary, this was the first loss for the New Zealand side in the ODI World Cup 2023.

Earlier, in the game, Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bowl first. The Indian team had to make two force chances due to the unavailability of star all-rounder Hardik Pandya. After a disciplined start early on in the match, Mohammed Siraj drew the first blood when he dismissed Devon Conway and sooner Mohammed Shami also joined the party dismissing Will Young. Shami, who came into the side in the absence of Pandya struck on his first delivery. However, after that Daryl Mitchell and Rachin Ravindra adopted a patient approach initially, gradually building their partnership and turning the tables on the Indian bowlers. The duo established a remarkable 159-run partnership for the third wicket, which is the highest for New Zealand in a World Cup match against India.

But as soon as the wickets were hard to come by, Shami struck again picking up the big wicket of Ravindra, who scored a brilliant 75 runs. But Mitchell carried on his way despite wickets tumbling on the other end. He eventually managed to complete his maiden World Cup century and also became the second Kiwi batter to score a century against India in World Cups. However, courtesy of some hostile fast bowling at the death of Shami who ended with a bowling figure of 5/54, India restricted the Kiwis to 273 runs in 50 overs.  

India had a stiff chase at the end

In pursuit of the target, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill provided a strong opening for the team, constructing a solid 71-run partnership for the first wicket. Rohit, despite being given two reprieves during his innings, made the most of the chances, scoring a superb 46 runs from just 40 balls, featuring four boundaries and an equal number of sixes.

 Gill was dismissed after contributing 25 runs, with Lockie Ferguson accounting for both Rohit and Gill. Virat Kohli, as usual, held one end securely and played a responsible innings. The batters at the other end got decent starts but failed to capitalize on them. Nevertheless, Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja successfully steered the team to victory with a partnership of 78 runs. Unfortunately, Kohli missed out on his 49th ODI century by a mere 5 runs, falling short of equaling the record set by the legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar.

 Let us look at how Twitter has reacted to this victory;

 

India Virat Kohli Rohit Sharma New Zealand