India beat NZ to reach their fourth World Cup final
What's the story
India beat New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai to reach their fourth ICC Cricket World Cup final.
The Men in Blue successfully defended 397, restricting the Kiwis to 327/10.
Mohammed Shami took a match-winning seven-wicket haul, while Daryl Mitchell's game-changing ton went in vain.
Earlier, centurions Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer fueled the Indian innings. The former completed his 50th ODI ton.
Match
A look at the match summary
Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill led India's charge after they elected to bat.
Rohit smashed a 29-ball 47, while Gill retired hurt (cramps) with a fifty.
Kohli (117) and Iyer (105) hammered the Kiwi bowlers, with Rahul's cameo powering India (397/4).
Shami reduced NZ to 39/2 before Kane Williamson (69) and Mitchell retaliated.
The latter was joined by Glenn Phillips, but NZ fell short.
Final
Fourth WC final for India
As mentioned, India have qualified for their fourth final in ODI World Cups. They won the tournament in 1983 and 2011.
India also reached the final in 2003 but lost to Australia.
The Men in Blue will now face either Australia or South Africa in the final this time. The two teams will clash on November 16 in the second semi-final.
Kohli
Kohli smashes record-breaking 50th ODI century, surpasses Sachin Tendulkar
Kohli entered the record books by smashing his 50th century in One-Day Internationals. He touched the three-figure mark in the 42nd over.
Kohli took India past the 300-run mark along with Iyer.
The former, who sustained cramps throughout his knock, slammed a formidable 117 off 113 balls. His knock was laced with 9 fours and 2 sixes.
Information
Highest individual score in WC semi-finals
Kohli now has the highest individual score by a batter in the ODI WC semi-finals. Before this, Sourav Ganguly was the only Indian with a century in this regard (111* vs Kenya, 2003). Notably, Iyer later joined Kohli and Ganguly with a 105-run knock.
Record
Eight 50+ scores in a World Cup edition
Kohli has become the first-ever player with more than seven fifty-plus scores in a World Cup edition.
The one at Wankhede was his eighth such score. Tendulkar (2003) and Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan (2019) occupy the second spot, with seven fifty-plus scores each in the tournament.
Both Rohit and David Warner slammed six fifty-plus scores in the 2019 World Cup.
Runs
150 ODI sixes for Kohli
Playing his 291st ODI, Kohli went past Ponting's tally of 13,704 runs in the format. He is now only behind Tendulkar (18,426) and Kumar Sangakkara (14,234) in terms of ODI runs.
Kohli reached yet another feat as he completed 150 ODI sixes. Rohit (320), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (229), Tendulkar (195), Ganguly (190), and Yuvraj Singh (155) are the only other Indians with this feat.
Record
Most runs in a WC edition
In the 2003 World Cup, Tendulkar smashed 673 runs from 11 matches at 61.18. The tally includes a solitary ton and six half-centuries. The record stood for over two decades.
Rohit closed in on this by smashing 648 runs in the 2019 World Cup, a run that included five tons.
Kohli has surpassed both Rohit and Tendulkar, smashing over 700 runs in WC 2023.
Knock
A blistering knock from Iyer
Iyer came to the middle after India lost skipper Rohit for 71 runs. The former joined forces with Gill and then Kohli.
While Kohli constantly rotated the strike, Iyer regularly went after spinners.
Iyer smashed eight sixes en route to his century that came off 67 balls. He slammed a 70-ball 105 (4 fours and 8 sixes).
Feats
Fastest-ever century in a World Cup knockout
Iyer now has the fastest-ever century in a World Cup knockout match.
He broke the record of Australia's Adam Gilchrist, who smashed a 72-ball ton against Sri Lanka in the 2007 World Cup final.
Iyer also became India's third centurion in the ODI World Cup semi-finals. He joined Kohli (vs NZ, 2023) and Sourav Ganguly (vs KEN, 2003).
Record
Third-fastest WC ton by an Indian batter
Iyer now has the third-fastest ton by an Indian in ODI World Cups. He went past Kohli (83 balls vs Bangladesh, 2011) and Virender Sehwag (81 balls vs Bermuda, 2007).
Iyer is only behind KL Rahul and Rohit in this regard. Notably, both Rahul (62 balls vs NED) and Rohit (63 balls vs AFG) achieved this feat in the ongoing World Cup.
Sixes
50 WC sixes for Rohit
Rohit, who smashed a 29-ball 47, completed 50 sixes in ODI World Cups.
He overtook West Indies's Chris Gayle's tally of 49 maximums to become the highest six-hitter in the competition history.
Australia's Glenn Maxwell (43) is the only other batter with 40 sixes in the tournament.
Notably, 28 of Rohit's maximums have come in the ongoing tournament, the most for any batter.
Totals
Highest-ever total in ODI World Cup semi-finals
India now have the highest team total in a World Cup semi-final. They are the first side to score over 350 in this regard. Australia are the only other side with a 300-plus total in the World Cup semi-finals (328/7 in 2015 WC semis).
Shami
Shami takes a match-winning seven-fer
Shami was once again the pick of India's bowlers, having picked up a match-winning seven-wicket haul.
He scalped New Zealand's first two wickets to get India on top.
The Indian seamer then dismissed NZ skipper Williamson, which proved the game-changer.
Shami also got rid of Tom Latham, Mitchell, Tim Southee, and Lockie Ferguson. He conceded 57 runs in 9.5 overs.
Mitchell
NZ's only centurion in ODI WC semis
Mitchell has become New Zealand's only centurion in the ODI World Cup semi-finals. He smashed 134 off 119 balls (9 fours and 7 sixes).
Before this match, Martin Crowe held the highest score by a New Zealand batter in this regard.
They are the only two Kiwi batters to have scored over 90 runs in a World Cup semi-final.