World Cup Draw: Group-by-Group Analysis

India's Virat Kohli scored a record 50th one-day international hundred when he reached three figures in the World Cup semi-final against New Zealand in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Kohli, 35, reached his century -- his third of the tournament -- with a two off fast bowler Lockie Ferguson, having faced 106 balls, hitting eight fours and a six, to break the record of 49 ODI hundreds he had shared with Sachin Tendulkar.

He did so on his former India team-mate's home ground, with Tendulkar among those applauding at the Wankhede Stadium as Kohli bowed towards his childhood hero and fellow 2011 World Cup-winner.

This was Kohli's 279th ODI innings, with the former India captain having also scored a further 71 fifties in addition to his 50 hundreds.

Dropped on 107, Kohli was eventually out for 117 when he pulled Tim Southee low to Devon Conway at deep square leg.

At that stage India, bidding to win a third World Cup title and second on home soil, were already well-placed for a huge total at 327-2 off 44 overs, with Shreyas Iyer 77 not out.

Kohli goes past Tendulkar's 673

India's Virat Kohli has surpassed Sachin Tendulkar's record of 673-run tally in a single edition of the World Cup during the first semi-final in Mumbai against New Zealand today.

When Kohli nudged a single off Glenn Phillips to reach 80 in the 34th over, he went past Tendulkar's tally. 

Tendulkar had struck 673 runs in the 2003 World Cup in 11 matches at an average of 61.18.

Kohli hits first-ever Cricket World Cup knockout fifty

India's Virat Kohli has managed to hit his first-ever fifty in ICC ODI World Cup knockout stage during the first semi-final against New Zealand in Mumbai today.

Shubman Gill struck a brisk 13th ODI fifty and along with Virat Kohli, continued to pile up the runs after India lost captain Rohit Sharma for a quickfire 47. Rohit and Gill put on 71 runs for the opening wicket, the skipper's knock including 4 fours and 4 sixes before Tim Southee gave New Zealand a much-needed breakthrough. Gill then kept up the pace, notching up 79 in 65 balls but he ended up having to retire hurt in the 23rd over.

Kohli's record in ICC ODI World Cup semi-final has been poor. He scored just 9 runs in the 2011 World Cup semifinal against Pakistan, and then he managed to score just 1 run in the 2019 World Cup semifinal against New Zealand. 
Earlier, India skipper Rohit Sharma surpassed West Indies' Chris Gayle as the player to hit the most number of sixes in World Cups. Rohit hit fifty sixes to surpass Gayle's tally of 49.

From aspirations of making it to their maiden semifinal to barely qualifying for the 2025 Champions Trophy with an eighth-placed finish, Bangladesh's World Cup dream has fluctuated as wildly as its tumultuous state of affairs. 

If looked closely, at the core of the fiasco, two entities could be found -- skipper Shakib Al Hasan and his enabler, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).

At 36, Shakib just wanted to play in what he said was going to be his World Cup swansong. He had clearly mentioned in a much-talked-about interview that he had no intention of leading the Tigers in the mega event and was only made to do so at the behest of the BCB.

So, questions could be raised as to why BCB -- a board that always claims to prioritise long-term planning over anything else -- would send a team to the World Cup under someone who was reluctant to lead in the first place?

Is it because there were no other suitable candidates to take the helm? If so, then that contradicts the long-stated claims of a rich pipeline and the depth of the national team's pool of players.

While that is a part played by the country's cricketing governing body in the Tigers' recent slump, Shakib and the team management including head coach Chandika Hathurusingha only furthered the downward spiral. 

Hathurusingha could be inquired about how the bunch of players that had seen Bangladesh do decently in ODIs just months ago had lost their mojo and balance in the most crucial time while Shakib would have to justify his off-field antics more than his underwhelming on-field performances.

Despite being forcibly burdened with the captaincy, expectations on Shakib were still very high, especially after his superhuman effort in the same tournament four years ago. 

Dealing with such pressure and cancelling out the outside noise has never been an issue for a champion cricketer like Shakib. In fact, followers of Bangladesh cricket know how he had made a pattern of covering up his off-field misdoings with immediate brilliance with the willow and the ball.

But this time, things proved to be different. After being part of the chaotic process of team selection for the World Cup that saw Tamim Iqbal being left out at the last minute, Shakib only managed to drum up more controversy and almost no superhuman act on the field to cover it up. 

Shakib's trip to Dhaka for a few solo practice sessions with his mentor midway through the World Cup was followed by the Tigers hitting the nadir of their already abysmal campaign -- an 87-run thumping at the hands of associate member, the Netherlands, in a game where Shakib made five with the bat and scalped just a solitary wicket. 

Also, for the first time in a long while, Shakib even looked to have let the pressure get to him when he struggled for eight deliveries before finally opening his account in the game against Pakistan. 

Shakib's World Cup campaign ended with a player-of-the-match performance against Sri Lanka, but his overall 2023 World Cup figures of 186 runs at 26.57 average and nine wickets may be an outcome befitting the visible shift of focus Shakib's career has seen in the last few years.   

Since coming out of his ICC-sanctioned ban for failing to report corrupt approaches in 2020, Shakib has anything but stayed away from controversies. From having affiliations with betting sites, kicking stumps, arguing with on-field umpires, returning to the country for personal reasons in the middle of the Asia Cup 2023 in Sri Lanka to inaugurating jewellery shop of a fugitive criminal -- Shakib could not have made it more apparent about his priorities and reluctance to fall into line.  

Maybe Shakib had things clear in his mind long before his reflection on the matter came to the fore when he said in that interview, "Would that [captaining Bangladesh in this World Cup] add any value to my career at this stage?" 

Perhaps Shakib knew all along what he was taking the team into and only tried to deflect the blame in case things went south when he admitted to not being willing to be in the leadership role ahead of the World Cup. 

Shakib is used to evading the true repercussions of his antics, mostly by riding on the BCB's reluctance to do anything about those. It might not be any different for Shakib this time too but the same can not be said of Bangladesh cricket which will have to suffer the real consequences of always accommodating a reluctant performer.  

The World Cup-winning French team returned home to a heroes' welcome yesterday, parading down the Champs-Elysees as hundreds of thousands of cheering fans gave a raucous welcome to the country's newest idols.

France overcame a determined Croatia to win 4-2 in Sunday's final in Russia, with teenager Kylian Mbappe applying the coup de grace and cementing his place as a new global superstar at the age of just 19.

Millions of fans in France then celebrated into the night, honking car horns and flying the tricolour flag while the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe were lit up in the national colours of blue, white and red.

Crowds began converging early Monday on the Champs-Elysees, the gathering point for all national celebrations, to catch a glimpse of a returning squad which has captured the country's imagination.

As the celebrating players descended on an open-air bus under heavy police guard -- some of the 2,000 officers deployed in the capital -- nine jets from the Patrouille de France, the air force's acrobatic unit, did an honorary flyover trailing blue, white and red smoke.

After leaving the Champs-Elysees, the players quickly changed into custom-made blue suits before being welcomed at the Elysee Palace by President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte, who were also decked out in blue for the occasion.

Macron previously promised the Legion of Honour for the victors' "exceptional services" to the country, an award already given to the legendary team which won France's first World Cup title in 1998.

The first couple then posed with the team as they sang the Marseillaise national anthem and waved scarves for a joyous group photo, before heading inside for a private meeting.

"Thanks to you all!" Macron told the team after gathering again outside. "This team is beautiful because you are united!"

Despite a voice nearly failing him, Pogba then proved himself a showman off the field as well as on by leading the guests in an impromptu celebratory rap punctuated by "Allez les Bleus!"

Nearly 3,000 guests were invited to the reception in the Elysee gardens, including around 1,000 youths from local football clubs such as Bondy, the gritty Paris suburb whose towering housing projects produced Mbappe.

Afterwards guests would be treated to the beats of DJ Snake, who has worked with pop stars including Lady Gaga and is part of the Pardon My French collective of French DJs.

Macron had already celebrated with the team on Sunday -- even doing "dab" dance moves with players in a video that has gone viral -- after attending the final in Moscow.

Later, the team were expected to attend a dinner in their honour at the posh Hotel du Crillon.

In Paris, the metro system has temporarily renamed six of its stations in honour of the key players, with the Victor Hugo stop -- named after the famed 19th-century writer -- becoming Victor Hugo Lloris after the team's goalkeeper.

Two stations were rebaptised in tribute to France coach Didier Deschamps, who captained the national side to its first World Cup victory, won on home soil in 1998.

"There are two things that matter -- one is that these 23 players are now together for life, whatever happens, and also that from now on they will not be the same again, because they are world champions," a champagne-soaked Deschamps said Sunday.

Macron will be relieved that joyous and occasionally chaotic celebrations across France on Sunday night passed off without any major incident following a string of terror attacks in France since 2015.

India and Australia have faced off in some of the most engaging contests in recent times and a new chapter to their rivalry will be added when they contest 50-over cricket's ultimate glory in Sunday's World Cup final in Ahmedabad.

The familiar foes will conclude their campaign like they started it, against each other, and none of the 130,000-odd seats at the Narendra Modi Stadium will be empty.

Favourites India comprehensively beat number two-ranked Australia in their tournament opener and then strung together 10 wins in a row to storm into the final of their home World Cup with an unblemished record.

Australia, by contrast, began with two defeats before going on an eight-match winning streak.

Captain Rohit Sharma and his team's semifinal victory against New Zealand, considered their bogey side, has answered questions about India's fragility in knockouts.

Rohit has led by example, with unbridled aggression at the top allowing others to play with more freedom.

Virat Kohli, the tournament's leading scorer, has been the trusted anchor, while others have batted around the senior duo in India's familiar template.

Their bowling, aided by the knowledge of home conditions, has been equally impressive.

Jasprit Bumrah has stifled batters both with the new ball and in the death overs while Mohammed Shami has emerged as the tournament's leading wicket-taker despite warming the bench in India's first four matches.

The left-arm duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja have shared the spin duties with considerable success on their quest for a third 50-overs World Cup trophy.

Expectation in the cricket-mad country is particularly high since the last three editions of the tournament have been won by the host nation.

Australia, however, are banking on their ability to lift themselves in big moments to gatecrash the Indian party and earn a sixth World Cup title.

Captain Pat Cummins and his men made heavy weather of a small target in Thursday's semi-final against South Africa, but India would underestimate Australia at their own peril.

In Adam Zampa they have a potent leg-spinner with 22 wickets in the tournament and a three-pronged pace attack finally firing on all cylinders after a stellar show against South Africa.

Glenn Maxwell can bat any team out of contention, as he did with his outrageous double century against Afghanistan and 40-ball 100 against the Netherlands.

A month ago, if someone had predicted that France and Croatia would play the World Cup final in Russia, most of us would have dumped it as an impossible option. But here we are with that spectacularly different reality -- the Les Bleus and the Blazers lining up for today's final at the Luzhniki Stadium.

France are no rank outsiders -- they are a proven force and won the World Cup in 1998. But Croatia have certainly lived up their nickname -- blazing their way to their first-ever World Cup final. And if Croatia win, they will be the ninth nation to lift the coveted trophy.

Do they deserve it? Let's have the facts -- they played three knockout games on the trot for 120 minutes and more importantly they did it the hard way. Croatia won their semifinal against England in style – coming from a goal down to win it 2-1 in extra time, with Mario Mandzukic slamming the winner on 109 minutes. Not only that, they won their three group stage games which included a thumping 3-0 win against two-time world champions Argentina.

This Croatia team have so far not only demonstrated that they have got the qualities, if not pedigree, to go all the way to win the title. They will be up against a team they lost thrice against two draws in the last five meetings, but Croatia's inspirational coach Zlatko Dalic said past statistics would not win his opponents today's final.

“Statics, tradition and head to head -- I don't buy those. Tradition is there to be demolished. We do not mind who is on the other side of the pitch. We have come here to enjoy the moment and give our best. We deserved to play in the final; we want the world to watch Croatia play; we want most of the world to root for us. This is important. We will give our all, we will enjoy our football and whoever is the better team may they win,” Dalic said ahead of the final.

After that semifinal heart-break against France in their maiden World Cup appearance in 1998, Croatia lurched from bad to worse in the following three editions of the World Cup. They made it to Russia at the last moment but since then it has been a spectacular journey for them with Luca Modric playing the key role in a very experienced side.

They might have played more minutes and got less rest compared to France and they have so far proved that they love to grind their way out of a hole. This tough mentality might prove handy for them against an extremely talented yet raw French side, who had only one tough game against Belgium in the semifinal. France were successful in defending a 54th-minute Umtiti lead against Belgium. But the ploy of sitting back against a vastly experienced Croatia side might prove costly for them.

France will bank on the brilliance of Kylian Mbappe to create something on the break. But the key player for the Les Bleus would once again be again Antoine Grizemann and it will be interesting to see who controls the midfield.

France captain Hugo Lloris is well aware that this Croatia team is not only very experienced but have the quality too. He also reminded that they would have to be at their best if they want France to lift the World Cup for a second time and put behind the home disappointment of the Euro 2016 final against Portugal.

Twenty years ago, France joined the exclusive group of World Cup winners, defeating Brazil in the final. Croatia made their first appearance in that year and bowed out, suffering an agonising 2-1 semifinal defeat against France. They will get a second chance at redemption. And if they can do that, it will be gift to the dreamers. Croatia is a county of only four million people, but Dalic promised that the seismic wave back in Croatia would be even bigger than Brazil and Argentina if they win the final.