Kohli misses century while India beat New Zealand by 4 wkts

Legendary batter Virat Kohli played a fantastic knock as host India clinch a four-wicket victory over mighty New Zealand in the 21st game of the World Cup in Dharamshala.

Kohli missed his third century in this tournament and 49th in ODI carrier just for five runs but kept the pivotal role to win with two overs remaining the match at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium on Sunday.

The men in blue defeated the Blackcaps after 20 years in any ICC event and elevated at the top of the point table. The last time, India won against New Zealand in the 2003 World Cup.

In reply to New Zealand’s 273 runs, India got a good start, with Rohit Sharma (46) and Shubman Gill (26) making a 71-run opening stand. After that, they lost two quick wickets in five runs.

Virat Kohli (95) then came in and started building partnerships with several batters holding another side. He departed when the team needed just five runs to win.

Shreyas Iyer (33), KL Rahul (27) and Ravindra Jadeja (39) had vital impacts to the victory.

Lockie Ferguson took the highest three wickets while Trent Boult, Matt Henry and Mitchell Santner got one wicket each for New Zealand.

Earlier, hosts India restricted mighty New Zealand to 273 runs, with fast-bowler Mohammad Sham getting a fifer.

Being asked to bat, New Zealand fell under a little bit of pressure losing two early wickets in 19 runs. After that, Rachin Ravindra (75) and Daryl Mitchell (130) came onto the crease and made a 159-run stand between them.

Although Ravindra departed after going close to the three-digit milestone, Mitchell did not make any mistake to complete his fifth ODI century and built several partnerships with his teammates on the other side. He departed just one ball before completing the full 50 overs.

Glenn Phillips (23) added some notable runs in the middle to help the team get a total of 273.

Mohammed Shami was the pick of the Indian bowlers as he took five wickets conceding 45 runs in 10 overs while Kuldeep Yadav got two.

Playing XIs

India: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj.

New Zealand: Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (C/WK), Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitch Santner, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult.