New Zealand beat India by 18 runs to enter second successive World Cup final
New Zealand produced a brilliant bowling performance to upset India with an 18-run victory in their rain-affected World Cup semi-final on Wednesday.
The Black Caps will face the winners of Thursday's semi-final between England and Australia in Sunday's final at Lords.
New Zealand add 28 runs to their overnight score from 23 balls to finish on 239 for eight -- a modest total India would have been confident of chasing down with ease.
But the Kiwi bowling attack turned the game around, taking three wickets in the opening 19 balls with tournament top scorer Rohit Sharma, skipper Virat Kohli and KL Rahul all dismissed for one.
From a dire position of 24-4, however, India got themselves back in the game thanks to a superb 116-run seventh-wicket partnership between MS Dhoni (50) and Ravindra Jadeja (77), only to be bowled out for 221 with three balls remaining.
India 9 down
Bhuvneswar Kumar is clean bowled by Ferguson for 0. India need 23 from the last over.
Dhoni falls for 50
He was run out by a direct hit from Guptill. India now need 25 from 9.
Jadeja falls after a brilliant knock
He was caught by Williamson off the bowling of Trent boult for 77. India need 31 from the last 2 overs to win the match.
India need 42 from 24 balls
Jadeja hits a fighting half century
Ravindra Jadeja brings up a brilliant fifty in 39 balls. It's his 11th ODI half century. The all-rounder is playing a gem of a kind knock along with MS Dhoni. India are 178 for in 44 overs; Jadeja batting on 59 along with Dhoni on 30. Now India need 62 runs from 36 balls to win.
Jadeja, Dhoni revive India's chase
Total reaches 150 for 6 in 40 overs; Jadeja playing on 39 not out along with Dhoni on 24.
Required run-rate climbing
India reach 114 for 6 in 34 overs, with Jadeja batting on 11 not out along with Dhoni on 19.
Santner picks his 2nd wicket
India are in trouble. Hardik Pandya departs, goes for a big hit but can't time it properly and only manages to spoon it up and Williamson takes a good catch at the midwicket. India 92 for 6 in 30.3 overs.
India's 5th wicket falls
Mitchell Santner picks his first wicket of the match as he gets rid of Rishabh Pant for 32. Pant was leading the rebuilding effort but was getting bogged down by some tight bowling when he hit out, and was caught on the boundary by Colin de Grandhomme. India have lost half their batsmen as Dhoni joins Pandya in the middle. Score reaches 71 for 5 in 23 overs.
Pant, Pandya lead India’s fightback
With boundaries hard to come by, Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya are mainly relying on singles and doubles only in the rebuilding process, despite some flawless bowling from the Kiwis. And India reach 70 for 4 in 20 overs; with Pant batting on 31 not out and Pandya on 22 not out.
Henry triple-strike jolts India
Matt Henry picks his 3rd wicket, Dinesh Karthik departs for 6, caught by Neesham at the backward point. India is 24 for 4 at the end of 10th over.
Sharma, Kohli, Rahul out for India in 1st 19 balls
London: India's best three batsmen, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli and Lokesh Rahul have been dismissed for 1 in the first 19 balls of the chase.
Sharma, the Cricket World Cup's top run-scorer, edged Matt Henry behind off the fourth ball of his innings. It was his shortest ODI innings since the 2017 Champion Trophy.
Kohli only lasted six balls, before he was trapped lbw by Trent Boult. The India captain reviewed the decision but replays showed the ball was clipping the bails.
KL Rahul was the second victim of Matt Henry, was caught by Latham at the first slip, for 1 run. India was 5-3 in 3.1 overs.
Sharma has struck a record five centuries this World Cup and came into the semifinals on 647 runs - 26 off the record for a single edition held by compatriot Sachin Tendulkar in 2003.
New Zealand sets India 240 to win
London:New Zealand has set India a target of 240 to reach the Cricket World Cup final after adding 28 runs to its overnight total on the resumption of the rain-hit last-four match in Manchester.
The Black Caps resumed at Old Trafford on 211-5 with 3.5 overs left, and ended its 50 overs on 239-8.
Two wickets fell in two balls, and Ravindra Jadeja was central to both of them. The India allrounder ran out Ross Taylor for a team-high 73 with a throw from midwicket that struck the one stump he could see.
Jadeja then took a high catch as he retreated toward the boundary at deep midwicket to remove Tom Latham for 10 off Bhuvneshwar Kumar at the start of the next over.
Off the final ball of the next-to-last over, Matt Henry (1) heaved Kumar high into the leg side and straight to Virat Kohli.
Mitchell Santner (9) and Trent Boult (3) were the not-out batsmen.
The ground was only about two-thirds full at the start of play on the reserve day, which was required after persistent rain brought a premature end to play Tuesday.
It's Day 2 of the first Cricket World Cup semifinal
New Zealand will resume on 211-5 with 3.5 overs left against India at Old Trafford, where persistent rain led to a premature end to play on Tuesday and the need to use a reserve day set aside by organizers.
Ross Taylor is on 67, and is in the middle with Tom Latham on 3. The final overs will be bowled by pacemen Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah, who helped to tie down New Zealand's batsmen with disciplined bowling on a sluggish pitch.
It is forecast to be cloudy again in Manchester, making batting conditions difficult. There could also be more rain.
India has to bat at least 20 overs to achieve a result one way or the other. If there is no result, India would advance because it finished higher in the group standings: It was first and New Zealand was fourth.
England and Australia meet in the second semifinal at Edgbaston on Thursday. The final is at Lord's on Sunday.
- With inputs from agencies
