Recent Match Report – India vs England, ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, 29th Match،
India 229 for 8 (Rohit 87, Suryakumar 49, Willey 3-45) bowled England 129 (Livingstone 27, Shami 4-22, Bumrah 3-32) per 100 runs
Mohammed Shami ripped out England’s hearts as India defended a modest total in Lucknow to maintain their unbeaten World Cup run and further doom their opponents’ campaign.
Shami took 2 for 4 from three overs during the first powerplay in a breathtaking spell and Jasprit Bumrah 2 for 17 from five as England swung to 40 for 4 after 10 overs chasing 230 for only their second tournament victory. Shami claimed two more and Bumrah one to ensure that would not happen as none of England’s batters got past Liam Livingstone’s 27 and India completed a 100-run victory at 15.1 overs to spare.
David Willey’s fierce, wide-eyed celebration after dismissing Virat Kohli for a nine-ball duck hinted at the threat England were supposed to bring but have sorely missed this tournament. This was matched by Dawid Malan’s steely gaze which followed the ball over mid-wicket as he hit Mohammed Siraj for six to get out of goal after Willey, Chris Woakes and Adil Rashid had helped to restrict India to 229 for 8, Rohit Sharma’s 87 in tricky batting. conditions that pave the way for hosts.
But then Bumrah beat Malan’s outside edge with a shot that went away and, two balls later, collected his man via a cut attempt which Malan clipped straight to his stumps. Bumrah took two wickets in two balls when Joe Root tripped over himself and hit the front pad as England stumbled to 30 for 2 after five overs and the batting woes that had plagued them looked set to continue .
Bumrah and Shami were outstanding throughout the second half of the first power play, the first from first to seventh, followed immediately by a first wicket for Shami, who took on Ben Stokes with two excellent balls that beat low attempts convincing defense, then drew the batter. to attack a fuller ball which splashed into the stumps.
Jonny Bairstow survived on 13 when Kohli failed to take a tough slip chance, but Shami picked up where he left off in his previous over with a second wicket in as many deliveries as Bairstow trailed one on this one, pinched the perfect length just outside the stump.
England needed something big from Jos Buttler, their beleaguered captain, who had managed just 95 runs in the first five matches, including a higher score of 43 in the opening match against New Zealand. But Kuldeep Yadav ensured that Buttler’s lean run continued with a gem of a delivery that turned fiercely from the outside off and crashed into the top of mid on and away to send him on his way for just 10 and leave England reeling at 52 for 5.
Shami returned for a second spell in the 24th over and struck the first ball to remove Moeen Ali, inviting the drive and finding an edge that crossed to KL Rahul behind the stumps. Shami’s dismissal of Adil Rashid, through the gate, left India with just one wicket to get and Bumrah obliged with a superb yorker that hit the base of Mark Wood’s middle stump.
After winning the toss and having India bat on a two-pace pitch, England started well, restricting their opponents to 35 for 2 in the opening powerplay.
Willey started with a maiden in the first over of the match, but his second was then for 18, including two sixes from Rohit over mid-wicket and down the field to put England’s bowlers under pressure from the start. However, Woakes – back after being dropped in England’s defeat to South Africa in the previous match and with just two wickets from his side’s only win over Bangladesh before that match – had some one to go back, beat Shubman Gill’s drive and slam it through middle and off the stumps. This brought Kohli to the crease, but his ill-timed drive to Willey was comfortably picked up by Stokes at mid-off to leave India reeling at 27 for 2 in the seventh over.
Woakes, bowling his sixth on the trot, struck again when Shreyas Iyer was simply caught by Wood at mid-off to take the score to 40 for 3 and England thought it was 51 for 4 before Rohit manages to cancel his dismissal from heavyweight hands. from Wood, when tracking of the ball suggested he was missing leg stump, and his next four runs from deep backwards were greeted with a thunderous roar from the home crowd.
Rohit brought up his fifty, spreading Wood just wide of mid on and running two, then lifted the next ball effortlessly beyond deep square leg towards backwards for six before dancing down the field to Moeen Ali and lift him through mid on for four in what turned out to be a crucial innings for India.
But then Willey came back on the attack and immediately broke a 91-run stand for the fourth wicket when Rahul stepped forward and flicked the ball to Bairstow at mid-off. Rohit got excited, picking up Rashid’s googly and digging to deep mid-wicket where Liam Livingstone ran from the edge of the boundary to take a strong sliding catch, driving his knee hard into the turf and leaving a huge divot.
England conceded their first extras in the 40th when Suryakumar Yadav shaped up to sweep past Moeen, but the ball eluded the bat as well as Buttler and dribbled for four byes. Ravindra Jadeja was quick to review his weighted dismissal to Rashid in the next over, but the decision was upheld on an umpire’s appeal when ball tracking showed the ball clipping the top of leg stump and that England could gain the upper hand in the competition.
From there, Surayakumar took it upon himself to keep India’s innings afloat. He moved to 48 and took his team beyond the 200-mark with a sublime knock for six off a fine leg from Wood. Barely had Bumrah driven Wood through the side for four and he was felled by Moeen at long-off, but Surayakumar then picked Woakes at deep point to give Willey his third wicket and fall within a run of his half-off. century.
Only Bumrah – run out for 16 off the last ball of the innings – joined Rohit, Surayakumar and Rahul in double figures as India found themselves short of the total they would have liked, even with their foes so disconnected. But thanks to his work with Shami throughout England’s innings, it proved enough.
