A mouth-watering top of the table clash was on the cards as India & New Zealand faced off against each other in Dharamsala. Both teams came into the game unbeaten, with lots of confidence & momentum. This game was India’s toughest challenge by far in the tournament and they overcame it after a challenging contest.
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Skipper Rohit Sharma went ahead with the plan that has worked perfectly for India so far & chose to bowl first after winning the toss. Siraj & Bumrah set the tone yet again as they kept the pressure on the opposition batters right from the start. Mohammad Shami who was playing his first game this World Cup was able to find wickets right from the outset. Even though they lost a few early wickets, New Zealand bounced back as Mitchell scored a magnificent hundred and stitched a crucial partnership along with Rachin Ravindra to keep the Kiwis in the game. However, Shami was breathing fire in the game as he ran through the Kiwi middle-order to take a fifer. An impressive bowling effort from India restricted New Zealand to 273 which many believed was much less than Kiwis could have reached.
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The Indian openers set the tone yet again as Rohit & Gill came out with a lot of positive intent & an array of glorious strokes. A good opening partnership laid the foundation for the Chase-Master to do what he does the best. Kohli started right where he left off, as he continued to play breath-taking shots ball after ball. Even though the chase looked like a smooth ride, New Zealand came back in the game again as they picked up 3 quick wickets to put India in a bit of a spot. Despite the middle-order slump, India managed to stay in the run-chase as two of the most experienced campaigners in Kohli & Jadeja stayed there till the end. Jadeja proved his value at no 7 yet again as he scored the winning shot, as India won their 5th consecutive game in the World Cup. This sensational performance takes India to the top of the table and they’ll be looking ahead to replicate similar kinds of performances in their next games.
