The Latest: Kohli praise for NZ 'outstanding' bowlers

By Associated Press 11 July 2019, 12:00AM

LONDON (AP) — The Latest on the Cricket World Cup (all times local):

3:25 p.m.

India captain Virat Kohli said New Zealand's bowling in the first half-hour of his team's innings was the turning point in their Cricket World Cup semifinal.

India was reduced to 5-3 after 3.1 overs, with Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Kohli himself all out for 1, and eventually lost by 18 runs as it chased 240 to win.

Kohli said "we thought we had restricted them to a total that is chaseable on any surface. But the way they bowled in that first half an hour was the difference in the game."

Kohli said there was "an outstanding skill level on display" by New Zealand's bowlers, who "made life very difficult for our batsmen."

___

2:55 p.m.

New Zealand has reached a second straight Cricket World Cup final after beating India by 18 runs.

Chasing 240 to win the first semifinal, India was dismissed for 221 with three balls remaining at Old Trafford.

New Zealand will play Australia or England in the final at Lord's on Sunday.

___

2:45 p.m.

India is 209-7 and requires 31 runs off the last two overs to beat New Zealand in the semifinals.

MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja produced a 116-run partnership, a record for the seventh wicket at a Cricket World Cup, before Jadeja was caught for 77 off 59 balls.

Dhoni is on 43 and with Bhuvneshwar Kumar (0) in the middle.

___

2:05 p.m.

India was 150-6 and needing 90 more runs to win off the last 10 overs against New Zealand in the first Cricket World Cup semifinal.

MS Dhoni (24) and Ravindra Jadeja (39) were sharing a 58-run partnership for the seventh wicket and appeared to be India's last hope at Old Trafford.

Hardik Pandya was the sixth man out for India, caught near the boundary by Kane Williamson off Mitchell Santner (2-25 off nine overs).

___

1 p.m.

India was 77-5 and heading for defeat halfway through its allotted 50 overs against New Zealand, chasing 240 to reach the Cricket World Cup final.

Rishabh Pant was the latest man out for 32. He 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 off spinner Mitchell Santner.

Hardik Pandya (26) and MS Dhoni (1) were in the middle but facing a tough task to stop New Zealand reaching its second straight World Cup final.

India was 5-3 and 24-4 at times in the reply.

___

12:30 p.m.

Australia batsman Usman Khawaja is out of the Cricket World Cup and has been replaced in the squad by Matthew Wade.

Khawaja has a left hamstring injury, sustained against South Africa in a group-stage match on Sunday.

Australia plays England in the second semifinal at Edgbaston on Thursday.

___

11:50 a.m.

India is in disarray on 24-4 after 10 overs of its reply in the first Cricket World Cup semifinal, chasing 240 to beat New Zealand.

Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul were all dismissed for 1 inside three overs, leaving India 5-3 at the time. According to BBC statisticians, it is the first time that a team's first three batsmen have been dismissed for 1 in the history of international cricket.

With the last ball of the opening powerplay, Jimmy Neesham produced an amazing one-handed catch down to his left to remove Dinesh Karthik for 6 off Matt Henry, who has figures of 3-15 off five overs.

It is the lowest score made by a team after the first 10 overs in this tournament.

Sharma and Rahul both edged Henry to wicketkeeper Tom Latham either side of Kohli getting trapped lbw by Trent Boult. The India captain failed to overturn the decision on review, and tossed his bat in the air in disgust as he made his way off the field.

___

11:20 a.m.

India's best two batsmen, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, have both been dismissed for 1 in the first 16 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.

India was 5-2 at the end of the third over.

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.

___

10:50 a.m.

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 74 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.

___

8 a.m.

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.

___

More AP cricket: www.apnews.com/Cricket and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

By Associated Press 11 July 2019, 12:00AM

Trending Stories

Samoa Observer

Upgrade to Premium

Subscribe to
Samoa Observer Online

Enjoy unlimited access to all our articles on any device + free trial to e-Edition. You can cancel anytime.

>