India beat New Zealand to register fifth consecutive World Cup win

Virat Kohli’s crafty 95 trumped Daryl Mitchell’s rapid 130 as India beat New Zealand by four wickets in a top-of-the-table clash in the 50-overs World Cup on Sunday.

Kohli could not complete the chase but his matured knock helped India to reach a victory target of 274 with two overs to spare to maintain their unbeaten run in the tournament.

Electing to field first, India removed both the openers early but were sloppy on the field dropping three catches to let New Zealand off the hook.

Daryl Mitchell forged a 159-run partnership with Rachin Ravindra (75) and New Zealand, sitting pretty at 205-3 in the 37th over, looked poised for a 300-plus total before Indian bowlers applied the brake.

Mohammed Shami led that effort claiming 5-54 in his first match of the ongoing tournament.

Both teams have won four games each in the round-robin tournament but New Zealand top the 10-team table due to superior run-rate.

Teams

India: Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj

New Zealand: Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Tom Latham (capt/wk), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Mark Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult

Umpires: Michael Gough (IND), Richard Kettleborough (IND)

TV Umpire: Paul Wilson (AUS)

Match Referee: Andy Pycroft (ZIM)