Virat Kohli does not need us, we need him: Bumrah
Bumrah, however, stressed that Kohli knows his cricket better than anyone else and that his experience of batting in these challenging conditions was essential from the team’s perspective.
England ended India’s unbeaten run in ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 on Sunday when they beat India by 31 runs at Edgbaston. England, in a do or die match, played exceptionally well to clinch this win against a stronger Indian team.
After winning the toss and deciding to bat first, English batsmen put up a formidable 337/7 on the board. When they came out to defend this total, England bowlers were up to the task showing remarkable discipline not allowing the Indian batsmen to score freely. Eventually, India could manage just 306/5.
A splendid opening spell by Chris Woakes meant India could not get off to a good start. After the early dismissal of KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli joined hands to keep India in the chase as they stitched a partnership of 138 runs for the second wicket but after Rohit and Virat were dismissed, the required run rate kept getting out of their reach and India were left far behind in the run chase leaving too much to do in the end overs.
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That the only six of the Indian innings was hit in the last over when the match was virtually over tells the story about how phenomenal England were on the field. With the win, England stay relevant in the competition.
Meanwhile, India will look to confirm their place in the semi-finals of the ongoing World Cup when they meet Bangladesh at the same venue on Tuesday. Earlier in the match, Jason Roy’s inclusion in the XI boosted England’s game. Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow led England to a flying start as they reached 160 in the 23rd over without the loss of any wicket.
Even after Roy got out, Bairstow continued to dominate the Indian bowling and scored a brilliant hundred under pressure.
With a solid foundation, at one point England looked set to score more than 350 but led by Mohammed Shami’s fifer, India pulled things back a little bit.
In the last 10 overs, England accelerated yet again, courtesy, a quickfire half-century from Ben Stokes, to reach 337/7, a total which turned out to be a match-winning one in the end.
Brief Scorecard: England: 337/7 (Bairstow 111, Stokes 79; Shami 5/69); India: 306/5 (Rohit 102; Plunkett 3/55)
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