India vs England, World Cup 2023: Rohit Sharma, Mohammed Shami put India on the cusp of semi-finals

India defended a below-par 229 against England to keep their winning streak intact in the 2023 Cricket World Cup.

Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav destroyed England’s chase as India moved to the top of the points table with 12 points from 6 matches after an emphatic victory in Lucknow’s Ekana Stadium on Sunday.

Rohit Sharma led from the front with a stylish 87 on a difficult pitch and his bowlers responded brilliantly. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami destroyed the England top-order before Kuldeep Yadav picked key wickets to give India another victory.

If they win their next match against Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday (November 2), India will reach the semifinals for the fourth successive time in ODI World Cups. No team outside of the current top four of India, South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia can reach 14 points now.

This was the first match in the 2023 World Cup which India won after batting first. India had chased successfully against Australia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh and New Zealand. However, England captain Jos Buttler won the toss and decided to ask India to bat on a two-paced pitch where shot-making wasn’t always easy.

India’s eventual 229 for 9 after being reduced to 40 for 3 in the 12th over was largely down to another masterclass from Rohit Sharma who top-scored with 87. To put his performance in perspective.

The second-highest score for India was 49 by Suryakumar Yadav while KL Rahul chipped in with 39. Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer were unable to deal with the slowness of the surface and played some lose shots as England took early advantage after their captain won the toss. Virat Kohli, who has been in terrific form, was dismissed for a duck, his first in an ODI World Cup.

England had hoped to salvage some pride and at least give themselves an outside chance of staying alive for the semifinal race. But their top-order was clueless against the pace of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami. It was a mix of superb fast bowling and nervous batting; Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow were tentative and overawed by the huge occasion. The defending champions did not bat like champions and failed to show any hint of courage against the best pace bowling attack in the world.

SHAMI, BUMRAH TOO GOOD FOR ENGLAND
Jasprit Bumrah was absolutely unplayable in his first two overs but Mohammed Siraj leaked runs. Bumrah swung the game India’s way with the back-to-back wickets of Dawid Malan and Joe Root. Mohammed Shami replaced an erratic Siraj at the other end and he delivered a sensational over to Ben Stokes, finishing it with the wicket of the England Test captain who played a high-risk shot after being kept on 0 for 9 balls before that. Shami struck again with the first ball of his next over to dismiss Jonny Bairstow and England’s chase was in complete tatters.

Jos Buttler has not had a great time with the bat and his captaincy has been questioned by every exert who has watched England disintegrate in the World Cup. His was the wicket that could define the game and he had to put a heavy premium on it. Along with Moeen Ali, Buttler was now responsible for England’s fate in Lucknow. But Kuldeep Yadav wouldn’t let the visitors breathe easy; he produced a ripper. The ball pitched outside off and turned back into the England captain like a spitting cobra.

Kuldeep Yadav could have had another wicket soon after but India chose not to appeal after the left-arm wristspinner hit the dangerous Liam Livingstone on the pads; TV replays showed he was plumb in front of the wickets. However, Shami did further damage when he returned for his second spell and struck with the first ball to remove Moeen Ali. Ravindra Jadeja then snared Chris Woakes who walked out of the crease without any purpose and KL Rahul completed an easy stumping to leave England with little chance of a fightback.

Kuldeep Yadav finally did get the wicket of Livingstone as England slipped to 98 for 8 in the 30th the over. At this stage, the writing was on the wall for the defending champions and India were on the cusp of another famous win.

While the Indian bowlers will be feted by the media and experts, Rohit Sharma deserves plenty of accolades for his batting and captaincy. With their backs to the wall, India recovered thanks to a stunning innings from Rohit. He took his chances and kept the English bowlers at bay on a tricky pitch. Rohit found an able ally in KL Rahul and the two added 91 for the fourth wicket. Suryakumar Yadav, in the XI only because Hardik Pandya is out with an injury, smashed 49 and gave India the impetus they needed to head towards a respectable total.