India, losers in the previous two semifinals of the World Cup, are in the final after a 12-year gap following yet another complete team performance — Virat Kohli scored his 50th ODI century, Shreyas Iyer got his second in a row, Mohammed Shami finished with seven wickets, and the home team defended an eminently defendable 397 against New Zealand.
At the venue where they won the World Cup crown in 2011, India got through into the final after beating New Zealand by 70 runs, and though the Kiwis gave India a good fight in the face of an impossible target — “got a sniff”, said captain Kane Williamson later — the home team’s win was never in doubt.
“Today being the semifinal, won’t say there was no pressure… Semifinal adds a bit extra, we wanted to not think too much about it,” said Rohit later. “Last two World Cups, we lost (in the semifinals),” said Shami. “Who knows when or if we’ll get a chance! So we wanted to do everything for this.”
As for Williamson, he was left ashen-faced, yet still smiling, and words of praise for India, and warning to their final opponents: “They’re the best team in the world.”
