India and New Zealand have locked horns at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai in the first semifinal of World Cup 2023. The hosts have opted to bat first after winning the toss and thanks to their captain Rohit Sharma, they got off to a brilliant start upfront in the powerplay overs. The 36-year-old took the initiative to score quick runs and took the attack to the likes of Trent Boult and Tim Southee.
However, his superb innings came to an end as Tim Southee and Kane Williamson joined hands to silence the crowd at the Wankhede. Rohit was indeed looking in ominous touch in the middle but the former did him in with a slower delivery even as the Indian captain looked to heave the ball for a six. But it was't to be as the ball went high in the air only for Williamson to run back and take a brilliant catch.
The New Zealand captain kept his eyes on the ball and took a tumbling catch to send back his counterpart. Rohit was dismissed in the ninth over of the innings but by then, the captain had done his job for the side scoring 47 runs off 29 balls with four sixes and as many fours. The video of the dismissal has gone viral and Williamson is being praised for a fantastic effort in the middle.
Here's the video:
Meanwhile, India and New Zealand both teams fielded an unchanged side for the semifinal backing the winning unit to do well in the crunch encounter.
Playing XIs:
New Zealand (Playing XI): Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson(c), Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham(w), Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Mark Chapman, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj
