While India captain Rohit Sharma is really proud of his team for their spectacular run to the ODI World Cup final, he admitted they were just “not good enough” on the big day to get past serial-winners Australia in Ahmedabad. For starters, about 20-30 more runs while batting, with a bigger partnership between half-centurions KL

India fell “30-40 runs short” of a good total in the final, but it wasn’t because of a fearful approach in the middle overs – that’s the line Rahul Dravid took in the wake of his team’s defeat to Australia in the 2023 World Cup title bout in Ahmedabad. “I won’t agree that we played

Calmness. Atmosphere. Mindset. Positivity. Expectation. These are words India captain Rohit Sharma used with regularity in his 36-minute pre-final press conference in Ahmedabad ahead of the big day against Australia. He didn’t say it, of course, but what he alluded to was this: while it’ll be nice to win, they aren’t weighed down by the

“It’s not over just yet” for this group of New Zealand cricketers, Kane Williamson said* after his side’s elimination from the 2023 World Cup with a 70-run defeat to India in the first semi-final on Wednesday night. Their golden generation of players are still yet to win a World Cup together in either white-ball format,

India have made it ten out of ten at the World Cup. They have been clinical pretty much all the way, dominating with the bat and with the ball, but that wasn’t quite the case on Wednesday in Mumbai in the semi-final against New Zealand, even if the margin of victory – 70 runs –

As he flicked Lockie Ferguson behind square in the 42nd over of India’s innings and completed the two that got him to his 50th hundred, Kohli celebrated with a leap and a punch in the air, before taking off his helmet, raising his arms and bowing towards the stands, where Tendulkar and Anushka stood applauding

ESPNcricinfo understands the semi-final was initially supposed to be played on Pitch 7, the central strip of the Wankhede Stadium’s pitch block. Pitch 7 is a fresh surface that was not used in the league stage of the World Cup. The change represents a late deviation from the pitch allocation devised before the World Cup.

When they step over the boundary at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday, India will confront head-on the pressure of a World Cup semi-final – a heightened version, perhaps, of the feeling that’s enveloped them right through this tournament. While this pressure is unavoidable once they step on the field, India have made every effort to

Kane Williamson consigned 45 matches across six weeks to the history books on the eve of the World Cup semi-final in Mumbai. His New Zealand side finished fourth in the group stages with five wins and four defeats while their opponents India were unbeaten and top of the table. But Williamson considers those positions irrelevant.

Virat Kohli picked up his first ODI wicket since 2014 and Rohit Sharma took his first since 2012 as India’s 160-run win over Netherlands extended their undefeated streak to 9-0 in the ODI World Cup. India went in with five frontline options, but Rohit was in the mood for experiments with the semi-finals coming up.

India 410 for 4 (Shreyas 128*, Rahul 102, Rohit 61, Kohli 51, Gill 51) beat Netherlands 250 (Nidamanuru 54, Engelbrecht 45, Siraj 2-29, Bumrah 2-33, Kuldeep 2-41, Jadeja 2-49) by 160 runs Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul led India’s batting masterclass as the hosts completed their undefeated run into the knockouts with a hammer blow

Big picture: Will India give the fringe players game time? They’ve been occasionally tested, but otherwise, India’s World Cup run has been nothing short of magical. Now on the day of the auspicious Indian festival of Diwali, they have a chance to gift their fans another dose of entertainment, and even though we know that

Rahul Dravid, the India coach, has all but ruled out the possibility of making wholesale changes to the XI for their final World Cup league game against Netherlands, even though they are guaranteed to finish on top of the points table. India have played the same XI for their previous four games, the last of

Gurkeerat faced 13 balls as a batter and bowled 60 balls as a bowler in international cricket – all in ODIs. He made his IPL debut for his hometown franchise, Kings XI Punjab as they were known then, in 2012, and played for them until 2017, scoring 342 runs in 24 innings at a strike

Only a day before this match, India’s coach Rahul Dravid gave a glowing endorsement of the role Ravindra Jadeja has played in the side. Jadeja had taken nine wickets at the time Dravid spoke about him. Getting more than one wicket per match is a good return but so good has the India attack been

Rohit was the firestarter as India raced past fifty in the fifth over and he finished with 40 off 24 balls, having provided the ignition needed to score 326 for 5, a total that was well above par on an Eden Gardens pitch that helped spin. But after the game, he said his approach was

“I had this sense of ‘it’s going to be something more,’ today rather than ‘it’s just one more game in the World Cup.’ I did wake up with that excitement, yes,” Virat Kohli said after his match-winning 101 not out off 121 balls against South Africa in Kolkata, on his 35th birthday, an innings that

“Every opportunity to play for India is big one for me. To be able to do that on my birthday, in front of the whole crowd, it’s stuff of dreams, something that as a child you wish had happened,” Kohli said after his record-equalling innings. “I am very grateful to God that I have been

Big picture – the toss conundrum Do you back your strength, or look to exploit your opponent’s weakness? Rohit Sharma and Temba Bavuma will have that question in their minds as India take on South Africa in a top-of-the-table clash at Eden Gardens on Sunday. South Africa love to bat first. Their top order invariably

Pandya had injured himself last month when he appeared to twist his left ankle while trying to stop a shot in his follow-through during his first over against Bangladesh. He played no further part in that match and was taken for scans. ESPNcricinfo understands he suffered ligament damage and has been undergoing rehabilitation at the

Shreyas Iyer has “no problem” dealing with fast bowlers targeting him with short deliveries. The India batter was emphatic as he took on the perception that he has a weakness in his game. “When you say it’s a problem for me, what do you mean?” he started at the post-match press conference after he made

Twenty-five days after starting their campaign, India have become the first team to qualify for the ODI World Cup semi-finals after a mammoth 302-run win over Sri Lanka in Mumbai on Thursday. “I’m very happy knowing we have officially qualified for the semi-finals, it’s been a good effort from the entire squad,” India captain Rohit

It’s about finding rhythm, hitting right areas, keeping an uncluttered mind, and feeding off the love of the people, Mohammed Shami said after bagging the Player-of-the-Match award for his 5 for 18 in a thumping 302-run win over Sri Lanka in Mumbai, which made India the first team to qualify for the World Cup semi-finals.

If required, India will not hesitate to field a three-spinner, two-seamer attack, particularly as they await the return of Hardik Pandya. This is what captain Rohit Sharma said on the eve of India’s seventh match in the World Cup, in which they have only once played an XI featuring all three of Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep

Big picture: Two teams with contrasting fortunes India. Sri Lanka. The Wankhede. The last time these two teams played an ODI at this venue, the occasion was the 2011 World Cup final. Twelve years later, though, things are a little different. India have lived up to the billing of being the pre-tournament favourites. They have

India captain Rohit Sharma has expressed concern over the worsening air quality in Mumbai, and elsewhere in the country, saying it is important to ensure that future generations can live “without any fear” in India. “In an ideal world, you do not want a situation like this but I am pretty sure that the concerned

India allrounder Hardik Pandya is set to miss two more matches at the World Cup, against Sri Lanka and South Africa, as he continues to recover from an ankle injury he suffered against Bangladesh. Pandya has not played a match since October 19, and ESPNcricinfo understands that India are unlikely to rush him back till

For the very first time in this World Cup, India had to set a total. And, coming up against England in Lucknow, they were off to a rocky start at 40 for 3 in the 12th over. From there, as per their captain and Player of the Match Rohit Sharma, it was vital for him

To replace Hardik, who provides balance to the side as an allrounder, India made two changes to their XI – bringing in Mohammed Shami and Suryakumar Yadav, and leaving out Shardul Thakur. Shami has excelled since his return to the team, taking five wickets against New Zealand and 4 for 22 from seven overs against

Having to set a total for the first time in this World Cup, India found themselves in trouble with wickets falling regularly, and scraped to 229 for 9, largely thanks to Rohit Sharma’s 87 on a challenging pitch. But eventually, India pulled off a comfortable win over England, and Jasprit Bumrah feels it was a