India triumphed over New Zealand in the battle of the two unbeaten teams of this year`s World Cup, clinching victory by four wickets with 12 balls on a long night in Dharamsala that saw play interrupted by fog.
Virat Kohli nearly equaled the ODI hundreds record held by Sachin Tendulkar, falling one shot short of his 49th ODI century on 95. An ambitious six attempt led to his dismissal near the boundary with India nearly home.
India`s top-notch performance demonstrated their squad depth with Mohammad Shami slotting in after Hardik Pandya`s injury and immediately picking up a 5-fer that won him the man of the match award. The win keeps them at the tournament`s summit with five wins out of five. New Zealand, suffering their first loss, still look relatively secure in the second spot with 4 wins out of 5.
Opting to bowl, India maintained their winning streak, overcoming the absence of star all-rounder Hardik Pandya due to an ankle injury. Suryakumar Yadav replaced him, and pacer Mohammed Shami took the field for Shardul Thakur.
New Zealand, unchanged from their previous win, continued without captain Kane Williamson, with Latham leading in his stead.
New Zealand batted first and scored 273, with Daryl Mitchell hitting the highest of 130 off 127 balls. Rachin Ravindra was the second-highest runs scorer for them with 75.
Shami took five-for for India, conceding 54 in 10 overs. Kuldeep Yadav scalped two for them.
In reply, India chased down the target in 48 overs. When Kohli was dismissed, India needed only five runs. They scored that mere five runs in two balls. Shami took a single, and in the last ball of 48th over, Ravindra Jadeja hit a four.
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