India overcame the dew factor, England’s batting depth,, and ‘Men in Blue’s’ below-par score to beat the defending champions by 100 runs in their ICC Cricket World Cup match in Lucknow on October 29. “This was the game, a lot of character in the squad. All our experienced players stood up at the right time and got the game for us. Looking at how the tournament has go on, we had to come and bat here. We were challenged upfront, they bowled pretty well upfront. To get to a total on a pitch that had something in it, we just wanted to get to a total we could play with it. We were not great with the bat. Losing three wickets is not the ideal situation. A couple of guys threw it (the wicket), including myself,” said Rohit in the post-match presentation.
“When you look at the overall picture, we were 30 runs short. It is not something you see every day. When you start your innings, you have to try and get a couple of wickets to put the pressure back on the opposition. You can always rely on our seamers to come good and get those crucial breakthroughs. They exploited the conditions. They put the ball in the right areas. We have a good balance (in the bowling), there is a bit of options and with experience as well. It is very important that the batters put runs on the board,” he added.
In the match, England opted to bowl first after winning the toss.
India put 229/9 in their 50 overs. Stars like Virat Kohli (0), Shubman Gill (9) and Shreyas Iyer (4) failed to score. But useful knocks from skipper Rohit Sharma (87 in 101 balls with 10 fours and three sixes), KL Rahul (39 in 58 balls, with three fours) and Suryakumar Yadav (49 in 47 balls, with four boundaries and a six) helped India go beyond the 200-run mark.
David Willey (3/45) was the pick of the bowlers for England. Rashid and Chris Woakes (2/33) took two wickets. Mark Wood got one wicket. In the chase of 230, England was never really a threat except for Liam Livingstone (27), the only batter to cross 20 runs. Mohammed Shami (4/22) and Jasprit Bumrah (3/32) demolished the English batting line-up. Kuldeep Yadav (2/24) and Ravindra Jadeja (one wicket) also bowled really well.
Rohit Sharma won the ‘Player of the Match’ for his gusty knock. With this, India is at the top with six wins in six matches and has 12 points. England is at the bottom with one win and five losses in six matches.
