Daryl Mitchell has dismissed the criticism against his side for helping Virat Kohli during the ODI World Cup 2023 first semifinal match at Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday.
New Delhi: New Zealand batter Daryl Mitchell has dismissed the criticism against his side for helping great batter Virat Kohli during the ODI World Cup 2023 first semifinal match against Rohit Sharma-led India and Kane Williamson-led New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday. Mitchell highlighted that this is something they are very proud of as a team and as New Zealanders.
The incident happened when Indian batter Virat Kohli suffered cramps during the game, which helped his side win by 70 runs and book their place in the prestigious tournament final. During the pause, several Blackcaps players checked Kohli and helped him stretch his hamstrings. After this, former Australian all-rounder Simon O’Donnell backlashed the Kiwi side for what he saw as a lack of competitive drive.
Reacting to this statement, Daryl Mitchell said that they want to play cricket in a way that suits their country and they are proud of themselves. “I think that’s something we really pride ourselves on as Black Caps and as New Zealanders. We want to play cricket in a way that suits us as a country and how we want to see our kids grow up and play the game themselves,” he told reporters before the team left Mumbai late on Thursday.
“We’ll keep playing cricket the way we do as Kiwis and hopefully the rest of the world can respect us and how we go about our day-to-day life, not only on the field but off it as well,” Daryl Mitchell said.
“It’s something that we’re really proud of, so we’ll just keep being Black Caps and doing what we’re doing,” he concluded.
Virat Kohli (117 in 113 balls, nine fours and two sixes) posted his 50th ODI ton, while Shreyas Iyer (105 in 70 balls, with four boundaries and eight sixes) scored his second-successive WC century, helping India post a massive score. KL Rahul also delivered a 20-ball cameo of 39 runs, with five fours and two sixes and scored 397/4 in their 50 overs.
In the chase of 398, Kiwis lost two early wickets. But an 181-run partnership between Daryl Mitchell (134 in 119 balls, with nine fours and six sixes) and skipper Kane Williamson (69 in 73 balls, with eight centuries and a six) kept Kiwis alive and Indian bowlers sweating for answers.
Glenn Phillips also played a valuable knock of 41. However, a two-wicket over by Shami changed the game and Men in Blue bowled exceptionally in the death overs to restrict NZ to 327 in 48.5 overs.