India already has one foot in the final of the World Cup tournament after its batsmen put New Zealand under pressure with a blistering blitzkrieg performance in the first semi-final at Wankhede Stadium.
In front of a sea of blue fans, Virat Kohli hit his customary century, captain Rohit Sharma provided a fireworks display in the run-up to the innings and Shreyas Iyer delivered a six-hit spectacle.
After 50 action-packed overs, India have 397/4 on the scoreboard. If every run in a playoff game is worth its weight in gold, then the home team must now undoubtedly boast a gold mine.
Then it was a milestone day for Kohli.
The 35-year-old former captain hit the 50th ODI century of his international career to break Sachin Tendulkar’s record.
Together with Iyer, he scored 163 runs for the third wicket and the poor Kiwi bowlers were beaten wild and wide awake.
The experienced Tim Southee may have taken three wickets, but he was bowled out for 100 runs in his ten overs.
Only Mitchell Santner conceded less than six runs per over, which once again underlines the fact that left-arm spinners are excelling in India this year.
In Rachin Ravindra, Devon Conway and Kane Williams, New Zealand certainly have the necessary batting explosiveness to pass the score.
But they will have to come up with some very special performances.
- Summary of the scorecard:
India 397/4 in 50 overs: Virat Kohli 117, Shreyas Iyer 105 and Tim Southee 3/100.
- Teams:
In the: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Siraj.
New Zealand: Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson (captain), Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson and Trent Boult.
