In a crucial semi-final of the ongoing world cup, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson won the toss and elected to bat first on a flat Manchester wicket. Indian pace duo of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah, exploited the overcast conditions and cracked the surface, generating seam movement. They both began their spell with a maiden and kept it tight in the starting 10 overs that exerted the pressure on the Kiwi batters.
Extra bounce from Jasprit Bumrah forced Martin Guptill to nick back a ball to second slip where Virat Kohli cling on to the catch. New Zealand did not lose further wickets but they could just manage 27 runs in 10 overs, which is the lowest score in the first powerplay of the ongoing world cup.
Ravindra Jadeja finally broke the defense of Henry Nicholls(28 off 51 balls) after getting swept for few boundaries earlier. The spinners generated spin from the surface which became tough for the Kiwi batsman to target. Skipper Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor controlled the damage and added 65 runs for the third wicket but took 102 balls that didn’t helped the cause of the black caps.
The team management send James Neesham ahead of Tom Latham to accelerate the scoring but he could just manage 12 runs off 18 balls after he top edged a ball by Hardik Pandya to long-on. By the end of 40 overs, there run rate was below four and they were struggling to fire.
Colin De Grandhomme(16 off 10 balls) tried to accelerate the scoring but he edged Bhuvneshwar to MS Dhoni. Set batsman Ross Taylor then took the charge and accelerated after scoring his half century but it was rain who had the last laugh and the day was finally called-off. New Zealand will continue their innings on 211/5 in 46.1 on the reserve day on Wednesday.
Virat Kohli gets angry on MS Dhoni
In the 46th over of the game, the New Zealand batters were looking for last over flourish but an unbelievable incident caught the eyes of many. Ross Taylor got a thick edge off Bumrah and the ball went to the third man fielder- Yuzvendra Chahal, he picked the ball and threw it back to MS Dhoni.
A bad bounce meant that Dhoni didn’t collect the ball in his gloves and it went through which allowed the Kiwi batsman to take another run. The act was not liked by the Indian captain and he whispered something before putting his hands on his head in disappointment.
