India bowled out New Zealand for 273 in 50 overs after winning the toss and electing to bowl first in Match 21 of the ICC World Cup 2023 in Dharamsala on Sunday.
New Zealand rode on a splendid partnership between Daryl Mitchell and Rachin Ravindra to post a par score at the HPCA stadium.
The Blackcaps in fact, were well on course for a total in excess of 300 but India came back strong in the latter half of the innings to keep the opposition to a gettable score on a small ground in Himachal Pradesh.
Mitchell & Ravindra's rescue act
Mitchell scored his fifth ODI hundred while Ravindra brought up his third fifty in the format during their 159-run partnership for the third wicket.
The duo came together when the team was in a spot of bother at 19 for 2 in the 8th over but then came the fightback from the Kiwis as Mitchell and Ravindra mixed caution with aggression to put India under pressure.
They scored freely in the middle overs and took the attack to the opposition once they were set in the middle. India found it hard to stop the flow of runs until Shami brought them back in the match with Ravindra's wicket.
Mitchell carried on from one end but kept losing partners from the other which is why they couldn't even get near the 300-run mark in the end.
Mitchell brought up his fifth ODI hundred off 100 balls before getting out on a career-best score of 130 in the final over to Shami.
Shami leads Indian fightback
Shami, playing his first match of the tournament, was the best bowler on show for the hosts as he bagged his third five-wicket haul in ODIs while Kuldeep Yadav grabbed a couple of scalps.
India were a bowler short in this match as Hardik Pandya was ruled out with an ankle injury. But after going for plenty during the Mitchell-Ravindra partnership, they managed to put the breaks on scoring by taking six wickets for 30 runs in the final six overs of the innings.
Shami became the first bowler from India to take two five-fors in World Cup cricket. He took five wickets for the first time in a World Cup during the 2019 edition against England in Manchester. He's the second bowler after Pakistan's Shaheen Shah Afridi to take a five-for in this World Cup.
Shami also went past Anil Kumble to grab second position on the list of most wickets for India in ODI World Cups. Shami now has 36 wickets from 12 matches which includes two five-fors. Zaheer Khan and Javagal Srinath lead the list with 44 wickets each.
