Lucknow, Oct 29 (UNI) Captain Rohit Sharma’s 87 and his bowlers led by the resurgent Mohammad Shami, put India virtually in ICC Men’s World Cup semifinals after defeating England by 100 runs at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium here on Sunday.
Sent in to bat, India huffed and puffed to 229/9 on a two-paced track against the much-improved England.
In reply, England were skittled out for 129 in 34.5 overs, thanks to Shami taking four wickets for 22 runs in 7 overs, using the track to his advantage.
Jasprit Bumrah also was not far behind and picked up 3 wickets for 32 runs in 6.5 overs. The duo were very lethal as they rattled English top-order by taking two wickets each in their consecutive balls, and suddenly pushed the defending champions in a deep hole with the scorecard reading 39/4 in 9.1 overs.
Kuldeep Yadav also was fantastic with the highest quality of leg-spin bowling. His wicket of Jos Buttler was unforgettable as the ball went sharply through the gates, shattering his stumps.
Ravindra Jadeja was good as he was stingy, giving away only 16 runs of 7 overs with a maiden and a wicket with his left-arm finger spin.
Rohit and KL Rahul (39 off 58) knit a very crucial stand when India had their backs against the wall, tottering at 40/3. Shot-making was difficult to come by, but the duo accumulated runs at a decent pace and denied England spinners to settle down.
England Captain Jos Buttler threw the ball to David Willey, and the speedster broke the 91-run partnership, thanks to a rash shot from Rahul. Thereafter, Rohit went into a slow mould, but Suryakumar Yadav infused energy.
Rohit miscued a slog and was caught by Liam Livingstone off Rashid, and trapped Ravindra Jadeja lbw for 8.
Surya was confused about rotating or keeping the strike, and in the process dot balls accumulated. He managed to clobber a six over fine leg off Wood, but was dismissed for 49 when he tried to play a big shot.
Jasprit Bumrah (16 off 25) and Kuldeep Yadav (9*) stitched a 21-run partnership for the 9th wicket, and ensured that India didn’t get bowled out.
Sent into bat, Rohit started aggressively, smashing two sixes and a boundary, earning 18 runs off Willey’s second over.
However, England sent back Shubman Gill (9) after Chris Woakes castled him in the fourth over.
Virat Kohli (0) fell immediately after in frustration without opening an account, caught by Ben Stokes at mid-on off David Willey after consuming nine balls.
Both Woakes and Willey applied brakes on India’s run flow and built pressure, and in this process picked up another wicket.
Shreyas Iyer (4) was frustrated with Woakes’ fuller deliveries, but saw one shorter and went after it but lobbed the ball at mid-on for Mark Wood to complete the catch.
Rahul walked into the middle and steadied the innings with Rohit, smothering the tough phase. The duo added a useful 58 runs between 21 to 30 overs.
After getting to his half-century, Rohit cut loose and smashed 4 boundaries and a six in his next 20 balls.
Just when India looked to run away, Willey returned with a wicket. Rahul gave an easy catch to Johnny Bairstow at mid-on.
Suryakumar’s arrival saw runs ticking as the 360 degree player uncorked some attractive sweeps and pulls.
However, England kept coming back by taking wickets. Rohit was dismissed, going for an expansive stroke against Adil Rashid in the 37th over.
David Willey and Chris Woakes were star bowlers for England with figures of 3/45 and 2/33 in 9 overs, respectively. Adil Rashid also picked up 2 wickets for 35 and Mark Wood 1 for 46 in 9 overs.
Chasing a paltry 230 target, England were off to a spectacular start, scoring 30 runs off the first 27 balls, but lost the plot with some superb bowling by the hosts. Malan (16) chopped on, and then Root lost his wicket plumb in front for a golden duck off Bumrah.
Shami was unplayable as he bothered Ben Stokes (0), who tried to slog out of frustration, but was cleaned up. He then castled Johnny Bairstow (10) in his next ball in a fresh over.
England were soon reduced to 39/4, and from there they could not recover. Kuldeep hurled a ripper to clean up Buttler (10), and Moeen Ali (15), Chris Woakes (10), Liam Livingstone (27), Adil Rashid (13) and Mark Wood (0) fell cheaply.
Barring Mohammad Siraj, all the Indian bowlers were relentless as they defended 229 easily.
