India’s Unbeaten Run To Semifinals: A Look Back (Image:Instagram/indiancricketteam)
No crackers to celebrate Diwali this year? The unbeaten run-record of the Men In Blue as they finishes table top in the group matches of 2023 ICC Men’s World Cup was enough to celebrate the festivities in utmost joy and happiness. Fans and audience across the world are thrilled and the warriors will next face New Zealand in the first semi-final on November 15 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Before moving to the semi-finals let’s look into India’s huge-exciting victories of this ODI series once more.
- India Vs Australia – October 8
The saga of continues Indian blast in 2023 ICC Men’s World Cup began from MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on October 8 Sunday. The match was between Aussies in which India won by 6 wickets.
Score: India – 201/4 (41.2/50), Australia – 199 (49.3/50)
India beat Australia and bagged two points from the campaign opener, where KL Rahul and Virat Kohli emerged as the standout performers from the side of Men In Blue – “a partnership for the ages”. While Rahul showcased his mastery with the bat scoring an unbeaten 97 runs, Kohli contributed a solid 85, and the duo a crucial partnership of 165 runs, rescuing India from a precarious situation of losing three wickets for just two runs in their pursuit of a 200-run target.
In the match, where Australia won the toss and Pat Cummins chose to bat first, the Indian bowlers with their outstanding performances, dismissed the yellow team for a total of 199 runs and helped the hosts reach the target in 41.2 overs. It was Ravindra Jadeja who played significant role from the side of bowlers and took three wickets. Meanwhile, Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah took two wickets each and made the bowling-line of India more stronger.
- India Vs Afghanistan – October 11
India met Afghanistan on the pitch on October 11, Wednesday, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. It was India’s second match of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup and the team won by 8 wickets.
Score: India – 273/2 (35/50), Afghanistan – 272/8 (50/50)
The captain led century strengthened the win along with Virat Kohli’s 55 not out. Rohit Sharma hit a record seventh World Cup century, scoring 131 runs off 84 balls including 16 fours and 5 sixes. Afghanistan went for batting first and India chased down their total of 272 for 8 in 35 overs. It was Hasmatullah Shahidi”s 80 and the young Azmatullah Omarazai”s 62 contributed to the maximum of Afghanistan.
India achieved their target in just 35 overs and boosted the country’s run-rate. Ishan Kishan earned 47, Virat Kohli a 55 not out and Shreyas Iyer 25 not out. Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan shared a 156-run partnership. Rohit Sharma also crossed 1,000 runs in World Cup matches and then reached his 50 off 30 balls.
On the bowling side, Jasprit Bumrah clinched 4 wickets, Hardik Pandya 2, while Kuldeep Yadav and Shardul Thakur got one wicket each.
- India Vs Pakistan – October 14
The match was hugely anticipated and India won emphatically against Pakistan and once again remained unbeaten, by 7 wickets. The victory was huge and the gripping match was held at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Score: India – 192/3 (30.3/50), Pakistan – 191 (42.5/50)
India stunned Pakistan by their dominant victory – India”s eighth World Cup victory against Pakistan. Ever since 1992, the later have not beaten India in 50 over format. It was their first lost in the season and that too with the archenemy. Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav triggered the collapse of Pakistan and shared four wickets, where captain Rohit Sharma secured his second consecutive half-century and led them from the front with a 63-ball 86.
In the match, Shreyas Iyer smashed a massive four to complete his half-century and took India to its 8th World Cup victory against Pakistan by 7 wickets. With this win, India surpassed New Zealand from the top of the point table and took the majestic position. India started the 192-run chase accompanied with huge boundaries from the openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill. The Babar Azam-led squad was going well till 30 overs, but as pacer Mohammed Siraj ended the big partnership between Babar Azam and Muhammad Rizwan, the batting collapsed and the team was all-out on a low score of 191 runs.
- India Vs Bangladesh – October 19
The super clash where Kohli powers perfect to win over Bangladesh by 7 wickets. It was another relentless saga hosted by the MCA International Stadium in Pune on October 19, Thursday.
Score: India – 261/3 (41.3/50), Bangladesh – 256/8 (50/50)
India defeated Bangladesh by seven wickets and secured their fourth consecutive victory in the 2023 ICC Men’s World Cup. The 257-run chase was boosted by the former India captain Virat Kohli with his another unbeaten 103. India finished on 261-3 inside 42 overs with Kohli hitting the winning runs when he reached his hundred with a six off spinner Nasum Ahmed.
The Bangladesh openers managed to score 100 runs in 17.2 overs, but however wickets started to fall when the Indian bowlers took the charge starting from Kuldeep Yadav to Ravindra Jadeja. Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah picked 2 wickets each, while Shardul Thakur and Kuldeep Yadav took one each.
The Indian strike show began with Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill. Kohli got the pitch and scored his 48th ODI century, just one away from equalling Sachin Tendulkar”s century record. He finishes with an unbeaten 103 off 97 balls.
- India Vs New Zealand – October 22
The match witnessed another defeat by India, as the Kiwis were thrashed by the Men In Blue by four wickets in a top-of-the-table clash. The match was hosted by the HPCA Stadium in Dharmshala On October 22, Sunday.
Score: India – 274/6 (48/50), New Zealand – 273 (50/50)
It was a ‘Shami Day’ for India as the team’s right-arm fast bowler Mohammed Shami Ahmed enjoyed a five-wicket-haul against the Black Caps and presented the gallery a spectacular show. It was his second five-wicket-haul in Cricket World Cup matches, and India restricted New Zealand to 273 runs from the 50 overs, where Shami rose to history as the first Indian pacer to achieve two five-wicket-hauls in the ODI World Cups.
India chased down the 273-run target set by New Zealand in 48 overs losing six wickets, where Virat Kohli scored an impressive 95 runs off 104 balls. It was a straight fifth win, even though KL Rahul was dismissed by Mitchell Santner, breaking his 50-run partnership with Kohli, and Suryakumar Yadav was run out subsequently, at a score of only 2 runs.
India regained the match once the partnership between Jadeja and Kohli made 68 runs, after a 71 was set earlier by Rohit Sharma (46) and Shubman Gill in the opening. Batting first, the Kiwis lost their batters from the field one after another – Mohammed Shami with his five-wicket-haul, 2 wickets by Kuldeep Yadav, and one each by Bumrah and Siraj.
- India Vs England – October 29
The match was simply Indian bowlers dramatic-epic performance where they delivered in style. In the match where captain Rohit Sharma laid a strong foundation, Shami’s brilliant spell steers the score card to a dominant win. The match was held at the BRSABVE Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.
Score: India – 229/9 (50/50), England – 129 (34.5/50)
The English side set a target of 230 but were thrashed down by the bowling attack of Bumrah, Shami, Kuldeep and Jadeja, who restricted England to just 129. India defeated their rivals by 100 runs and it was the sixth consecutive victory for the Men In Blue in the tournament.
India scored 229 runs at the loss of nine wickets, where skipper Rohit Sharma managed to grab 87 runs. Mohammed Shami continued his massive attack and took four wickets, and strengthened India’s ever biggest victory in the tournament so far. The victory all but pushed the defending champions out of the semi-final race.
India chose batting first and the Rohit Sharma-led side had scored 229/9, which was considered to be a below-par total. However, the Indian bowling attack bowled out the English side for 129 in 34.5 overs. England previously lost to New Zealand (by 9 wickets), Afghanistan (by 69 runs), South Africa (by 229 runs) and Sri Lanka (by 8 wickets) and already lacked confidence to beat the power-packed team of the tournament.
- India Vs Sri Lanka – November 2
It was another smashing day for India as it met the neighbours, Sri Lanka, on pitch. The match was held at the popular Wankhede stadium in Mumbai on November 2, Thursday, where the Rohit Sharma led Indian team thrashed Sri Lanka by 302 runs. Another huge victory for the Blue Army!
Score: India – 357/8 (50/50), Sri Lanka – 55 (19.4/50)
It was a World Cup record win for India where Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj delivered scorching fast bowling and electrified the encounter. The win also marked India’s seventh consecutive victory in this years 50-over tournament and was one of the most dominant performance by the team. India went for batting first and the Sri Lankan batters later extinguished themselves unable to withstand the 358 target-rate, under 20 overs.
The chase of Sri Lanka went hopeless as Jasprit Bumrah struck with his very first delivery. Followingly, Siraj took the next three wickets and left Sri Lanka at four for three runs. Subsequently Shami grabbed a five-wicket haul and finished with 5-18.
The batting side was also fabulous, where Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill – both surpassed fifties and earned a 189-run partnership. Shreyas Iyer added the score with another interesting 56-ball 82. He earned three fours and six sixes before dismissed by Maushanka.
- India Vs South Africa – November 5
In the match, India defeated South Africa while an unbeaten Virat Kohli smashed a record century. Indian bowlers also ripped through South Africa and the all-round Jadeja excelled in his pitch magic. The thrashing innings was witnessed by the Eden Gardens in Kolkata in which the Men In Blue won by 243 runs.
Score: India – 326/5 (50/50), South Africa – 83 (27.1/50)
It was India”s eighth win in as many matches, where Virat Kohli scored his second century of the World Cup on his 35th birthday, equaling Sachin Tendulkar“s record of 49 ODI centuries, and shared a 134-run partnership with Shreyas Iyer. In the match, Ravindra Jadeja: Became the first Indian bowler to get a five-wicket haul against South Africa in the ODI World Cup, picking up figures of 5/33 in his nine overs.
The team South Africa got off to a poor start as Mohammed Siraj dismissed in form Quinton de Kock for 5 with Proteas losing their first wicket for 6. Rohit Sharma hit a 24-ball 40 and shared a 62-run opening partnership with Shubman Gill (23) but the Proteas left them fighting at 105 for two after 15 overs.
As Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli heralded the batting campaign, the trio of Shami, Siraj and Bumrah have made the white ball move as they please. South Africa was not bad behind as the Proteas have been in exceptional form with bat and ball.
- India Vs Netherlands – November 12
Another mesmerising day as India cap-offed the group stage with their ninth consecutive win and this time over Netherlands. The match was sizzled with Shreyas Iyer’s brilliant ton, and the Blue Army remained unbeaten. The match was hosted by M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru where the host country won by 160 runs.
Score: India – 410/4 (5/50), Netherlands – 250 (47.5/50)
The win marked India’s longest victory streak in a single edition of the ODI World Cup and finished at the top of the point table. Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul hit hundreds for India, when the teams mainline bowlers, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, and Kuldeep Yadav shared 8 wickets among them. The Dutch were bowled out for 250 with Teja Nidamanuru scoring a 50.
Rohit Sharma kicked off a power play in first 10 overs. Both batters fell after scoring fifties. Later it was carried on by Virat who gave an explosive fifty to the match. Shreyas Iyer made his maiden century in his first World cup. Making the match more special on Diwali, first time in World Cup history that the top five batters of a team having all scored 50 or more.
Virat Kohli removed Scott Edwards to get his first ODI wicket in nine years. While Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja removed Ackermann and ODowd. Bumrah and Siraj then compounded Netherlands woes as they were reduced to 172/6 in the 38th over. Shreyas Iyer Received the Player of the Match for his maiden world cup century.
