Staying calm under pressure has helped India, says Rohit Sharma after 2023 ODI World Cup semi-final win against New Zealand

India defeated New Zealand by 70 runs to reach an ODI World Cup final for the first time since the 2011 victory.

Mohammed Shami celebrates after taking one of his seven wickets against New Zealand in the 2023 ODI World Cup semi-final. (Image: PTI)

New Delhi: India captain Rohit Sharma admitted to being pressured but staying calm in crisis situations helped India as the Men in Blue defeated New Zealand by 70 runs to march into the 2023 ODI World Cup final on Wednesday. India will meet South Africa or Australia in the top-flight match in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

Opting to bat first, India posted a mammoth 397/4 in 50 overs, courtesy of Virat Kohli’s 50th ODI hundred (117) and Shreyas Iyer’s (105) second consecutive World Cup century. Rohit Sharma (47) and Shubman Gill (80 not out) also contributed with the bat.

In reply, New Zealand lost their openers to Shami before Daryl Mitchell (134) and Kane Williamson (69) put on 181 runs to steady the ship. However, just when it looked like New Zealand would take the match away, Shami brought India back into the match with two wickets in an over.

With Mitchell still in the middle, New Zealand had their chances, but Shami threw water on all Kiwi dreams by picking up the danger man and eventually finished the match with a career-best of 7/57.

“I’ve played a lot of cricket here, you can’t relax. You have to get the job done as quickly as possible. We knew there would be pressure on us. We remained calm, even though we were a bit sloppy on the field. These things will definitely happen, I am happy we could get the job done,” Rohit said after the match.

Keep believing pic.twitter.com/oizJU6ugDC

— KL Rahul (@klrahul) November 15, 2023

Stay calm was Rohit’s message to the who team and that helped. “If the score percentage is above 9, you have to take risks. They gave us chances, but we didn’t take them. Mitchell and Williamson batted brilliantly. We had to remain calm.

“The crowd went silent, that’s the nature of the game. We knew we had to get something up our sleeves. We tried everything and Shami was brilliant. The best five-six hitters made it count. Very happy with what Iyer has done in this tournament. Gill, the way he batted up front was brilliant, unfortunately he had to return.

“Kohli, as usual, was brilliant, played his trademark innings and achieved his milestone. All in all, the batting was excellent. That’s the template we want to move forward with. England, we only have 230 on the board.

“The way our bowlers bowled up front, they picked wickets. Today I wouldn’t say there was no pressure. Boys did the work. We wanted to do what we did in the first nine games. It turned out very well,” he added.