After producing a dominant show throughout the World Cup, Team India have maintained a similar tempo in the ongoing semifinal encounter against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. Rohit Sharma along with Shubman Gill gave India another explosive start after winning the toss and opting to bat first. The pair added 71/1 in 8.2 overs before Rohit fell against Tim Southee for 47(29). (Follow | India vs New Zealand Live Score, World Cup Semi-Final)
Virat Kohli then joined the proceedings and kept things moving along with Gill, before Team India endured a major injury scare. Gill, who was batting on 79 off 65 balls, went down with cramps, following which he hobbled off the field retired hurt.
Can Gill return to bat?
Gill, however, can walk into bat after the at the fall of any wicket as Kohli and Shreyas Iyer take charge in the middle.
Commanding show by Gill
If we look at Gill’s innings, he was timing the ball sweetly and was onset towards a ton, which would have been his first in the tournament. He smacked eight 4s and three 6s during his stay in the middle.
Update on Gill’s injury
There has been no official word on the extent of Gill’s injury but the management will hope it’s not a major one, especially with the final around. If worse comes to worse Ishan Kishan, who has been on the sideline, will walk into XI if Gill fails to recover from it and India advance to the final, where they will either meet South Africa or Australia.
Kohli slams 50
Meanwhile, Kohli has slammed yet another half-century and will look to convert it into triple digits. The former India skipper has 49 centuries under his name and another one will take him above batting legend Sachin Tendulkar among batters with highest number of tons in ODIs.
Earlier, Kohli survived a close appeal just two balls into his innings. A strong LBW appeal was turned down by umpire Richard Illingworth, following which New Zealand opted for DRS. TV replay confirmed Kohli was safe as the Black Caps lost an early review.
