ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Semi-Final: ‘Hitman’ Rohit Gives Flying Start to India

Rohit Sharma has won the toss and elected to bat in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 Semi-final in Mumbai.

Rohit Sharma backed his own call by putting his foot on the pedal early on in the innings. He took on Trent Boult in the very first over with a couple of streaky fours. There wasn't much with Boult's lines in his opening over, but Rohit went in with the intent of taking quick runs.

This continued in the following overs, as Rohit kept going for his shots even as Shubman Gill gave him decent support. With his third six of the innings, Rohit crossed Chris Gayle as the batter with the most sixes in the history of the Cricket World Cup.

Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bat first in Mumbai. He believed that India would look to manage the controllable and give their best.

Both sides were unchanged ahead of the semi-final.

India’s campaign in their home Cricket World Cup has been a flawless run. Almost every player in the setup has contributed and the side has gone from strength to strength in the tournament. The top-order is firing big, and is backed up by an equally adept middle-order.

Pacers and spinners alike are bossing the conditions. It seems like Rohit’s mantra of living in the present, is working quite well for the side.

However, they are up against their bogey side, New Zealand, a team which has more often than not come out on top against the Men in Blue in ICC events. This was also true for their previous meeting at a Cricket World Cup knockout game, wherein New Zealand denied India in a nail-biting classic, with Ravindra Jadeja and MS Dhoni’s fightback proving not quite enough to deny the Kiwis a spot in the final.

It’s been a mixed run for New Zealand in this World Cup. Rattled by injures even before the tournament started, their initial run wasn’t impacted by the chop-and-change in their personnel. However, the side lost to India in Dharamsala and then entered a rut, losing four games in a row. They overturned that with a confident win against Sri Lanka, a victory that helped them qualify for the knockout stage.

The onus is on their big stars to shine in an all-important clash against the undefeated tournament hosts. 

Playing XIs

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami,  Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj.

New Zealand: Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson (c), Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (wk), Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult.