England is still in the race to reach the semi-finals of this enthralling World Cup. In a captivating game at Edgbaston, which was transformed into a wondrous Colosseum of cricket on a sunny Sunday afternoon, England won by 31 runs. n a match decorated by high drama, sumptuous centuries from Jonny Bairstow and Rohit Sharma and a gutsy England performance after a tricky week under the spotlight.
This victory was crucial to England’s World Cup hopes. It meant that if Eoin Morgan’s side can defeat New Zealand in Chester-Le-Street on Wednesday they are guaranteed a place in the semi-finals. They will need every second of the next two days to recover from a sapping contest, in which they held their nerve superbly against the only unbeaten side left in the tournament.
Innings Analysis
England
England’s 300-plus score was mounted by the rousing knocks of Man-of-the-Match Jonny Bairstow (111), Jason Roy (66) and Ben Stokes (79). Host captain Eoin Morgan won the toss, elected to bat and found validation through his openers Bairstow and Roy, who added 160 for the first wicket, while Stokes flourished in the final stretch. India did exert some control in the middle overs and Mohammed Shami bagged five wickets, but England were firmly on top after at the end of the first innings.
India
Pursuing the host’s steep total, India lost its opener K.L. Rahul for a duck and then found stability through a 138-run second-wicket partnership between Rohit Sharma and Virat
The former etched a third hundred (102) in this World Cup and Kohl registered his fifth consecutive fifty. But an asking rate that hovered around 10 proved tough to counter and despite some big hits from Hardik Pandya, Kohli’s men stumbled to a 31-run defeat.
Key Moments
For England There #unnecessary capitalization of the first letter were many key moments in the match ranging from winning the Toss, Return return of Jason Roy, Swashbuckling innings from Jonny Bairstow, Dynamic innings from Ben Stokes, Use of Slow balls etc.
While for India there were not many Key moments that could have won the game for them except the 132 Run between Kohli and Sharma.
Road Ahead
England will qualify if they beat New Zealand in their last match and get to 12 points. In that case, New Zealand would remain at 11 points. Pakistan can also reach 11 points if they beat Bangladesh in their last game. But if Bangladesh beat India and Pakistan, they will reach 11 points. If India lose to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, they could also end up on 11 points.
By: Rachit Rawat