Indian cricket team batsman Shubman Gill returned to bat in the 2023 Cricket World Cup semi-final against New Zealand after retiring. Earlier, the Indian cricket team suffered a huge blow when opener Shubman Gill retired injured after scoring a brilliant half-century at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday. Gill looked great as he scored 79 off 65 deliveries before suffering from cramps. It was a hot and sultry day in Mumbai and during the 23rd over of the Indian innings, Gill developed cramps and had to lie down in the middle of the over. The Indian cricket team physio was standing in the middle and after a few minutes Gill decided to leave the field. However, he was not fired and was able to return to work after a certain period. Here’s a look at what the MCC rules say about retiree pain:
25.4.1:A batter may stop at any time during his/her innings if the ball is dead. Before allowing play to continue, the umpires must be informed of the reason for a batter’s retirement.
25.4.2: If a batsman withdraws due to illness, injury or any other unavoidable cause, that batsman shall be entitled to resume his/her innings. If for any reason this does not happen, that batter should be recorded as ‘Retired – not out’.
Three of the four previous tournament matches in Wankhede have been won by the team that batted first, with the exception of Australia’s stunning defeat to Afghanistan, where Glenn Maxwell’s remarkable 201 not out secured a three-wicket win.
The two undefeated tournament guests India and New Zealand remained unchanged.
“It looks like a good delivery, even on the slower side, but whatever we do, we know we have to get it right,” opening batsman Rohit said at the toss.
New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson added: “We would have had a bat first as well. It’s obviously a used surface but we’ll try to make use of it with the ball up first and hopefully some dew will fall later.”
Before the match started, Indian cricket icon Tendulkar and former England football captain Beckham paraded with the World Cup trophy.
Beckham is in the country as an ambassador for UNICEF, a role that Tendulkar also fulfils.
India’s Virat Kohli needs another century to set an outright new one-day international record of 50 hundreds after leveling with retired former teammate Sachin Tendulkar’s score of 49 against South Africa.
India won all nine pool matches but were put under pressure by New Zealand during a four-wicket success in Dharamsala last month.
New Zealand, on the other hand, lost four matches before qualifying for the knockout stages.
Four years ago, the Black Caps defeated India in a World Cup semi-final in Manchester, which lasted two days due to rain.
“It was way back in 2019 that we played that semi-final. New Zealand have been one of the most consistent teams over the years and it’s going to be a good match,” Rohit said.
“I’ve constantly talked about how important it is to show up and forget what happened in the past. We have to keep control of the controllable things.”
India are competing for a third one-day international World Cup title, adding to their 1983 victory in England and their 2011 win over Sri Lanka in the Wankhede final.
New Zealand, finalists in the last two World Cups, are yet to lift the trophy.
Wednesday’s winners will face five-time champions Australia or South Africa, who meet in the second semi-final in Kolkata on Thursday, in the Ahmedabad final on Sunday.
Teams
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wkt), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj
New Zealand:Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson (capt), Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (wkt), Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult
(With AFP inputs)
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