England outplayed favourites India to win by 31 runs, in a high scoring match to keep their semi final hopes alive at Edgbaston, Birmingham.
Electing to bat first, openers Jason Roy, back in the playing X1, after sitting out for three matches due to hamstring, & Bairstow, survived some anxious moments, enduring the length & pace of Bumrah & Shami. However, once the normally lethal spin combo of Chahal & Kuldeep was introduced, the batsmen opened up, taking advantage of the short boundary on one side, & clobbered 160 runs in just 22 overs, before substitute Jadeja took a blinding catch at long on to remove the dangerous Jason Roy, who scored 66 runs. 200 runs came in the 30th over & just when England were looking good for a score beyond 350, Shami dismissed Bairstow for a brilliant 111 runs, getting his 8th century & Capt Morgan in quick succession, but runs came freely. Root dropped anchor as Stokes was outrageous in stroke play, racing to his third successive 50+ score, before getting out in the last over for 79 runs in just 54 deliveries. Root made a sedate 44, while Butler blasted 20 off just 8 balls, as England ended their innings at an imposing 337 for 7 wickets. While Bumrah was fantastic with the ball, giving just 44 runs in his 10 overs & claiming Ben Stokes, Shami picked up 5 wickets, though going for 69 runs in his quota. Spinners were taken to cleaners, as Chahal went for 88 runs, & Kuldeep gave away 72 claiming just one wicket on a rare off day, while Pandya went for 60 runs - the bowlers had been pulverised by the attacking English batmen.
In reply, India needed a brisk start, but Rahul fell without scoring & Virat coming in to join Rohit, found the going tough, as both dug deep to reinstate the chase. Rohit, was uneasy & struggled for timing initially, while Virat was also circumspect, as the English pacers controlled the proceedings, & India crawled to just 28 runs in the first 10 overs. Virat brought up his fifth successive half century in the 20th over & went on to add 138 runs with Rohit, before getting out against the run of play in the 29th over for a well made 66 runs. Rohit, enjoying an early chance in the second over, when at 8, as Root spilled a sitter in slips, went onto get his 25th ODI century, before edging behind in the 37th over for 102. With Virat & Rohit back in the pavilion, England were cock a hoop, as the asking rate started to creep up. Rookie Rishabh Pant & Hardik Pandya batted in their fearless cavalier style, getting useful but insufficient cameos of 32 & 45 runs respectively, & when Hardik perished in the 45th over, India were left requiring 71 runs, from the last 5 overs. Dhoni & Jhadhav were strangely tepid in their approach, as the English bowlers, smelling a victory round the corner, gave nothing away. While the impatient crowd booed & millions over TV moaned in exasperation, the two batsmen, played out 31 deliveries, sucking 7 dots & taking 20 singles, 3 boundaries & just one six !! - It was a bizarre passage of play, as the game petered to a tame finish, from what was expected to be a humdinger. The intent was missing & that reflected in the end result. After today's performance, Dhoni's finishing abilities & his invincibility will take a huge beating with his fans for sure, while Jhadav may have to pave way for Dinesh Kartik or Ravindra Jadeja in the upcoming games.
While English batsmen had hit 13 sixes in their innings, the famed Indian line up could muster just one - & that difference in approach between the two sides, turned out to be decisive !!
With his victory, England are back in the reckoning now with 10 points in 8 games. Their last match against New Zealand, who are on 11 points, would be decide on who comfortably makes to the semis. The losing side will then will have to await favours from other matches, as Bangladesh & Pakistan would look to take advantage !!
India, still second on the table, need one more point from the remaining two games against Bangladesh & Sri Lanka to move into the last four - this loss should work as a wake up call for the Men in Blue in matches ahead, as a Billion plus dreams keep awake & watching......
Electing to bat first, openers Jason Roy, back in the playing X1, after sitting out for three matches due to hamstring, & Bairstow, survived some anxious moments, enduring the length & pace of Bumrah & Shami. However, once the normally lethal spin combo of Chahal & Kuldeep was introduced, the batsmen opened up, taking advantage of the short boundary on one side, & clobbered 160 runs in just 22 overs, before substitute Jadeja took a blinding catch at long on to remove the dangerous Jason Roy, who scored 66 runs. 200 runs came in the 30th over & just when England were looking good for a score beyond 350, Shami dismissed Bairstow for a brilliant 111 runs, getting his 8th century & Capt Morgan in quick succession, but runs came freely. Root dropped anchor as Stokes was outrageous in stroke play, racing to his third successive 50+ score, before getting out in the last over for 79 runs in just 54 deliveries. Root made a sedate 44, while Butler blasted 20 off just 8 balls, as England ended their innings at an imposing 337 for 7 wickets. While Bumrah was fantastic with the ball, giving just 44 runs in his 10 overs & claiming Ben Stokes, Shami picked up 5 wickets, though going for 69 runs in his quota. Spinners were taken to cleaners, as Chahal went for 88 runs, & Kuldeep gave away 72 claiming just one wicket on a rare off day, while Pandya went for 60 runs - the bowlers had been pulverised by the attacking English batmen.
In reply, India needed a brisk start, but Rahul fell without scoring & Virat coming in to join Rohit, found the going tough, as both dug deep to reinstate the chase. Rohit, was uneasy & struggled for timing initially, while Virat was also circumspect, as the English pacers controlled the proceedings, & India crawled to just 28 runs in the first 10 overs. Virat brought up his fifth successive half century in the 20th over & went on to add 138 runs with Rohit, before getting out against the run of play in the 29th over for a well made 66 runs. Rohit, enjoying an early chance in the second over, when at 8, as Root spilled a sitter in slips, went onto get his 25th ODI century, before edging behind in the 37th over for 102. With Virat & Rohit back in the pavilion, England were cock a hoop, as the asking rate started to creep up. Rookie Rishabh Pant & Hardik Pandya batted in their fearless cavalier style, getting useful but insufficient cameos of 32 & 45 runs respectively, & when Hardik perished in the 45th over, India were left requiring 71 runs, from the last 5 overs. Dhoni & Jhadhav were strangely tepid in their approach, as the English bowlers, smelling a victory round the corner, gave nothing away. While the impatient crowd booed & millions over TV moaned in exasperation, the two batsmen, played out 31 deliveries, sucking 7 dots & taking 20 singles, 3 boundaries & just one six !! - It was a bizarre passage of play, as the game petered to a tame finish, from what was expected to be a humdinger. The intent was missing & that reflected in the end result. After today's performance, Dhoni's finishing abilities & his invincibility will take a huge beating with his fans for sure, while Jhadav may have to pave way for Dinesh Kartik or Ravindra Jadeja in the upcoming games.
While English batsmen had hit 13 sixes in their innings, the famed Indian line up could muster just one - & that difference in approach between the two sides, turned out to be decisive !!
With his victory, England are back in the reckoning now with 10 points in 8 games. Their last match against New Zealand, who are on 11 points, would be decide on who comfortably makes to the semis. The losing side will then will have to await favours from other matches, as Bangladesh & Pakistan would look to take advantage !!
India, still second on the table, need one more point from the remaining two games against Bangladesh & Sri Lanka to move into the last four - this loss should work as a wake up call for the Men in Blue in matches ahead, as a Billion plus dreams keep awake & watching......
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