Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson during the Cricket World Cup semi-final© AFP
Inda’s triumphant performance against New Zealand in the Cricket World Cup 2023 semi-final earned the home team plenty of plaudits as they progressed to the final of the tournament. While New Zealand put in a valiant effort, they couldn’t break the resolve of Rohit Sharma‘s men. However, a bizarre remark came from a former Australian cricketer, saying the Kiwis shouldn’t have helped India’s Virat Kohli when he was suffering from cramps en route to his 50th ODI hundred. New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell has responded to the comment.
Former Australia all-rounder Scott O’Donnell questioned the Kiwis’ sportsmanship, saying such a gesture wasn’t needed for a player like Kohli who was tearing the Kiwi team during the semi-final match in Wankhede.
“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,” Mitchell said in a chat with reporters as 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. It’s something that we’re really proud of, so we’ll just keep being Black Caps and doing what we’re doing.”
When asked about the task ahead, Mitchell said that the team is already looking forward to the 2-match Test series against Bangladesh.
“That’s the nature of international sport these days,” he asserted. “We’ll show up, we love Test cricket, it means a hell of a lot to this group. We’ll be ready to go come the first day of that Test and wear that black cap again.”
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