World Cup (cricket): 2023
Contents |
The results of all the matches
Match 1, October 05, 2023 at 14:00 IST. Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
ENGLAND
282/9 (50.0)
VS
NEW ZEALAND
283/1 (36.2)
New Zealand beat England by 9 wickets
Match 2, October 06, 2023 at 14:00 IST. Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad
PAKISTAN
286/10 (49.0)
VS
NETHERLANDS
205/10 (41.0)
Pakistan beat Netherlands by 81 runs
Match 3, October 07, 2023 at 10:30 IST. Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala
BANGLADESH
158/4 (34.4)
VS
AFGHANISTAN
156/10 (37.2)
Bangladesh beat Afghanistan by 6 wickets
Match 4, October 07, 2023 at 14:00 IST. Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
SOUTH AFRICA
428/5 (50.0)
VS
SRI LANKA
326/10 (44.5)
South Africa beat Sri Lanka by 102 runs
Match 5, October 08, 2023 at 14:00 IST. MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
INDIA
201/4 (41.2)
VS
AUSTRALIA
199/10 (49.3)
India beat Australia by 6 wickets
Match 6, October 09, 2023 at 14:00 IST. Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad
NEW ZEALAND
322/7 (50.0)
VS
NETHERLANDS
223/10 (46.3)
New Zealand beat Netherlands by 99 runs
Match 7, October 10, 2023 at 10:30 IST. Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala
ENGLAND
364/9 (50.0)
VS
BANGLADESH
227/10 (48.2)
England beat Bangladesh by 137 runs
Match 8, October 10, 2023 at 14:00 IST. Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad
PAKISTAN
345/4 (48.2)
VS
SRI LANKA
344/9 (50.0)
Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by 6 wickets
Match 9, October 11, 2023 at 14:00 IST. Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
INDIA
273/2 (35.0)
VS
AFGHANISTAN
272/8 (50.0)
India beat Afghanistan by 8 wickets
Match 10, October 12, 2023 at 14:00 IST. Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow
AUSTRALIA
177/10 (40.5)
VS
SOUTH AFRICA
311/7 (50.0)
South Africa beat Australia by 134 runs
Match 11, October 13, 2023 at 14:00 IST. MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
NEW ZEALAND
248/2 (42.5)
VS
BANGLADESH
245/9 (50.0)
New Zealand beat Bangladesh by 8 wickets
Match 12, October 14, 2023 at 14:00 IST. Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
INDIA
192/3 (30.3)
VS
PAKISTAN
191/10 (42.5)
India beat Pakistan by 7 wickets
Match 13, October 15, 2023 at 14:00 IST. Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
ENGLAND
215/10 (40.3)
VS
AFGHANISTAN
284/10 (49.5)
Afghanistan beat England by 69 runs
Match 14, October 16, 2023 at 14:00 IST. Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow
AUSTRALIA
215/5 (35.2)
VS
SRI LANKA
209/10 (43.3)
Australia beat Sri Lanka by 5 wickets
Match 15, October 17, 2023 at 14:00 IST. Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala
SOUTH AFRICA
207/10 (42.5)
VS
NETHERLANDS
245/8 (43.0)
Netherlands beat South Africa by 38 runs
Match 16, October 18, 2023 at 14:00 IST. MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
NEW ZEALAND
288/6 (50.0)
VS
AFGHANISTAN
139/10 (34.4)
New Zealand beat Afghanistan by 149 runs
Match 17, October 19, 2023 at 14:00 IST. Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune
INDIA
261/3 (41.3)
VS
BANGLADESH
256/8 (50.0)
India beat Bangladesh by 7 wickets
Match 18, October 20, 2023 at 14:00 IST. M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
AUSTRALIA
367/9 (50.0)
VS
PAKISTAN
305/10 (45.3)
Australia beat Pakistan by 62 runs
Match 19, October 21, 2023 at 10:30 IST. Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow
NETHERLANDS
262/10 (49.4)
VS
SRI LANKA
263/5 (48.2)
Sri Lanka beat Netherlands by 5 wickets
Match 20, October 21, 2023 at 14:00 IST. Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
ENGLAND
170/10 (22.0)
VS
SOUTH AFRICA
399/7 (50.0)
South Africa beat England by 229 runs
Match 21, October 22, 2023 at 14:00 IST. Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala
INDIA
274/6 (48.0)
VS
NEW ZEALAND
273/10 (50.0)
India beat New Zealand by 4 wickets
Match 22, October 23, 2023 at 14:00 IST. MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
PAKISTAN
282/7 (50.0)
VS
AFGHANISTAN
286/2 (49.0)
Afghanistan beat Pakistan by 8 wickets
Match 23, October 24, 2023 at 14:00 IST. Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
SOUTH AFRICA
382/5 (50.0)
VS
BANGLADESH
233/10 (46.4)
South Africa beat Bangladesh by 149 runs
Match 24, October 25, 2023 at 14:00 IST. Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
AUSTRALIA
399/8 (50.0)
VS
NETHERLANDS
90/10 (21.0)
Australia beat Netherlands by 309 runs
Match 25, October 26, 2023 at 14:00 IST. M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
ENGLAND
156/10 (33.2)
VS
SRI LANKA
160/2 (25.4)
Sri Lanka beat England by 8 wickets
Match 26, October 27, 2023 at 14:00 IST. MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
PAKISTAN
270/10 (46.4)
VS
SOUTH AFRICA
271/9 (47.2)
South Africa beat Pakistan by 1 wicket
Match 27, October 28, 2023 at 10:30 IST. Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala
AUSTRALIA
388/10 (49.2)
VS
NEW ZEALAND
383/9 (50.0)
Australia beat New Zealand by 5 runs
Match 28, October 28, 2023 at 14:00 IST. Eden Gardens, Kolkata
NETHERLANDS
229/10 (50.0)
VS
BANGLADESH
142/10 (42.2)
Netherlands beat Bangladesh by 87 runs
Match 29, October 29, 2023 at 14:00 IST. Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow
INDIA
229/9 (50.0)
VS
ENGLAND
129/10 (34.5)
India beat England by 100 runs
Match 30, October 30, 2023 at 14:00 IST. Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune
AFGHANISTAN
242/3 (45.2)
VS
SRI LANKA
241/10 (49.3)
Afghanistan beat Sri Lanka by 7 wickets
Match 31, October 31, 2023 at 14:00 IST. Eden Gardens, Kolkata
PAKISTAN
205/3 (32.3)
VS
BANGLADESH
204/10 (45.1)
Pakistan beat Bangladesh by 7 wickets
Match 32, November 01, 2023 at 14:00 IST. Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune
NEW ZEALAND
167/10 (35.3)
VS
SOUTH AFRICA
357/4 (50.0)
South Africa beat New Zealand by 190 runs
Match 33, November 02, 2023 at 14:00 IST. Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
INDIA
357/8 (50.0)
VS
SRI LANKA
55/10 (19.4)
India beat Sri Lanka by 302 runs
Match 34, November 03, 2023 at 14:00 IST. Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow
NETHERLANDS
179/10 (46.3)
VS
AFGHANISTAN
181/3 (31.3)
Afghanistan beat Netherlands by 7 wickets
Match 35, November 04, 2023 at 10:30 IST. M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
NEW ZEALAND
401/6 (50.0)
VS
PAKISTAN
200/1 (25.3)
Pakistan beat New Zealand by 21 runs (D/L method)
Match 36, November 04, 2023 at 14:00 IST. Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
ENGLAND
253/10 (48.1)
VS
AUSTRALIA
286/10 (49.3)
Australia beat England by 33 runs
Match 37, November 05, 2023 at 14:00 IST. Eden Gardens, Kolkata
INDIA
326/5 (50.0)
VS
SOUTH AFRICA
83/10 (27.1)
India beat South Africa by 243 runs
Match 38, November 06, 2023 at 14:00 IST. Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
BANGLADESH
282/7 (41.1)
VS
SRI LANKA
279/10 (49.3)
Bangladesh beat Sri Lanka by 3 wickets
Match 39, November 07, 2023 at 14:00 IST. Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
AUSTRALIA
293/7 (46.5)
VS
AFGHANISTAN
291/5 (50.0)
Australia beat Afghanistan by 3 wickets
Match 40, November 08, 2023 at 14:00 IST. Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune
ENGLAND
339/9 (50.0)
VS
NETHERLANDS
179/10 (37.2)
England beat Netherlands by 160 runs
Match 41, November 09, 2023 at 14:00 IST. M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
NEW ZEALAND
172/5 (23.2)
VS
SRI LANKA
171/10 (46.4)
New Zealand beat Sri Lanka by 5 wickets
Match 42, November 10, 2023 at 14:00 IST. Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
SOUTH AFRICA
247/5 (47.3)
VS
AFGHANISTAN
244/10 (50.0)
South Africa beat Afghanistan by 5 wickets
Match 43, November 11, 2023 at 10:30 IST. Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune
AUSTRALIA
307/2 (44.4)
VS
BANGLADESH
306/8 (50.0)
Australia beat Bangladesh by 8 wickets
Match 44, November 11, 2023 at 14:00 IST. Eden Gardens, Kolkata
ENGLAND
337/9 (50.0)
VS
PAKISTAN
244/10 (43.3)
England beat Pakistan by 93 runs
Match 45, November 12, 2023 at 14:00 IST. M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
INDIA
410/4 (50.0)
VS
NETHERLANDS
250/10 (47.5)
India beat Netherlands by 160 runs
1st Semi-Final, November 15, 2023 at 14:00 IST. Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
INDIA
397/4 (50.0)
VS
NEW ZEALAND
327/10 (48.5)
India beat New Zealand by 70 runs
2nd Semi-Final, November 16, 2023 at 14:00 IST. Eden Gardens, Kolkata
SOUTH AFRICA
212/10 (49.4)
VS
AUSTRALIA
215/7 (47.2)
Australia beat South Africa by 3 wickets
Final, November 19, 2023 at 14:00 IST. Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
INDIA
240/10 (50.0)
VS
AUSTRALIA
241/4 (43.0)
Australia beat India by 6 wickets
League matches
Chennai: India beats Australia
India vs Australia, Cricket World Cup 2023 Highlights: India has won its opening encounter of this world cup against arch rival Australia. The victory came in the 42nd over, as it chased down a total of 200 runs with six wickets in hands. KL Rahul, unbeaten at 97, and Virat Kohli who scored 85, were the architechts of th run-chase. They stitched a partnership of 165 runs. The team had begun the run chase on a shaky ground, with Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer getting out at zero.
Earlier, Australia had won the toss and decided to bat first in hot and humid conditions at the MA Chidambaram Stadium (Chepauk) in Chennai. Ishan Kishan replaced illnesses-ridden Shubman Gill in Indian playing XI while Ravichandran Ashwin also finds a place at his home ground.
Despite losing the toss, India bowlers didn't disappoint and gave a very tough time to the Australian batters, who could be seen struggling from the very beginning.
Apart from David Warner (41) and Steve Smith (46), not other batter could stand on the Chepauk pitch for long, all thanks to the Indian bowling attack. By 49.3 overs, Australian batters could score only 199 runs and were all out. India now need only 200 runs at 4 rpo.
For India, each bowler showcased their magic. Ravinddra Jadeja was the most successful bowlers, who picked 3 wickets, while Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav picked 2 wickets each. Also, Ravichandran Ashwin, Hardik Pandya and Mohammed Siraj all clinched one wicket each too.
Prior to the match, Men in Blue skipper Rohit Sharma has already said that the Indian squad is ready to face any challenge, citing highly motivated players and the recent Asia Cup 2023 tournament win. India had also convincingly defeated the Kangaroos 2-1 during a recent home series.
India, the current world number 1 ranked ODI side, look a complete side at the moment despite their two World Cup warm-up matches being washed out. The Indian side boasts arguable two of the best ODI batters at the top in the form of skipper Rohit Sharma and veteran batter Virat Kohli. Meanwhile, given the spin-friendly conditions expected in Chepauk, India also has a plethora of quality spin options in the form of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav.
Australia, on the other hand, will look to continue their dominance in the ODI World Cup under captain Pat Cummins. While the first warm-up game for Kangaroos was washed out due to rain, they had closely defeated Pakistan in a high-scoring affair at Hyderabad.
In the clash against India, Aussies will depend heavily on the leg-spin of Adam Zampa with assistance from Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith. In terms of pace bowling, it will be interesting to see if Australia can afford to have the trinity of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood in their playing XI at Chepauk.
Here are the highlights:
Pat Cummins won the toss for Australia and elected to bat first at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. 2. India go with a three-pronged spin attack at Chepauk with Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav. Ashwin is playing at his home ground for the first time in a world cup match.
3. Shubman Gill, who is suffering from dengue fever, has been replaced by Ishan Kishan, who will open the batting with skipper Rohit Sharma.
4. Bumrah dismissed Mitchell Marsh at golden duck in the third over, as the Australian batter failed to open his account. Australia was 5/1 at that time.
5. With his classic wristspinner, Kuldeep Yadav sent set batter David Warner (41) to pavilion in the 17th over. At that time, Australia had scored 74 runs.
6. After Bumrah and Kuldeep, Ravindra Jadeja sent set batter Steve Smith (46) with his length ball in the 28th over.
7. Just after Steven Smith, Jadeja in the next over dismissed Marnus Labuschagne and Alex Carey, in the second and the fourth ball. With this, he has taken 3 wickets for India.
8. After Jadeja's spell, Kuldeep just dismissed Glenn Maxwell (15), who lost his leg stump in the 35.5 over.
9. When everyone is taking wickets, how can Ashwin leave behind. He departed Cameron Green in the 37th over as he was caught by Hardik Pandya.
10. After the spinner did their work, Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah was brought into attack and departed Pat Cummins in the 43rd over.
11. Hardik Pandya departed Adam Zampa in the 49th over, while Mohammed Siraj finished Australian innings by picking up his first 2023 World Cup wicket of Mitchell Starc.
12. The entire Australian innings was over at 199 and now India will have to chase 200-runs target with a run rate of 4 per over.
13. India were off to a tense start, losing the top three batters – Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer for a duck. They were 18/3 in 6 overs, with KL Rahul and Virat Kohli in the middle.
14. India is at 27/3 at the end of 10 overs. The first powerplay was totally dominated by Australia, which sent back the top three Indian batters cheaply, and succeeded in maintaining the pressure.
15. Virat Kohli and KL Rahul tilted the game's balance in India's favour with their vital partnership. At the end of 20 overs, India was 80/3.
16. Kohli and Rahul, with their 100-plus runs partnership, have consolidated India's position in the match. The team scored 120/3 at the end of 30 overs. Both the batters scored half centuries by this stage.
17. Kohli was finally dismissed after he scored a game-changing knock of 85 runs. It was Josh Hazlewood who picked up his wicket. Notably, Kohli's catch was dropped when he was at the score of 12, off Hazlewood's ball, by Mitchell Marsh.
18. Hardik Pandya, at number 6, came out with the intent to finish off the game quickly. Having spent only a few minutes on the crease, he began swinging his bat. He struck a six, the first for this Indian innings, against a quicker one bowled by Josh Hazlewood at the off stump. India reached 182/4 in 40 overs. Only 18 runs were needed to win as the final powerplay began.
19. India completed the run-chase in the 42nd over, with six wickets in hand. Rahul finished off in style by smashing a six to draw curtains over the match. He remained unbeaten at 97 off 115 balls.
20. With this win, India is at the 5th spot in the points table. The team shares 2 points each with New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan and Bangladesh, but is placed behind them due to the comparatively lower run rate.
Pune: India beat Bangladesh
Oct 20, 2023: The Times of India
India vs Bangladesh highlights, World Cup 2023: Virat Kohli slams 48th century as India beat Bangladesh by 7 wickets
IND vs BAN highlights: Virat Kohli's unbeaten century sealed India's fourth win from four World Cup matches as the hosts defeated Bangladesh by seven wickets in Pune on Thursday. Star batsman Kohli reached his century and ended the match in style with a six against spinner Nasum Ahmed when he needed three runs to complete his century and India required two more runs to reach a target of 257. They got there with more than eight overs to spare, finishing on 261-3. Kohli faced 97 balls, including six fours and four sixes, with this century his third score in excess of fifty in four innings following contributions of 85 and 55 not out in recent pool wins over Australia and Afghanistan. But for Bangladesh, a third defeat in four matches left them with an uphill struggle to qualify for the semi-finals. The stage was set for Kohli by an opening partnership of 88 between India skipper Rohit Sharma (48) and Shubman Gill (53). Rohit signalled India's intentions with a second-ball cover-driven four off Shoriful Islam as Bangladesh bowling coach Allan Donald, the former South Africa spearhead, looking on from the boundary edge. Rohit, fresh from scores of 131 and 86 against Afghanistan and Pakistan respectively, hooked Hasan Mahmud for a huge six only to hole out when trying to repeat the shot next ball. Kohli, however, was soon into his stride with a four -- off a free hit -- and a sublime straight six from successive Mahmud deliveries. Gill's exit, as he just failed to clear the rope for a third time, made little difference to the run-spree. Earlier, spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja sparked a top-order collapse against a Bangladesh side who had won three of their four previous ODIs against India. The Tigers were held to 256-8, having been well-placed at 93 without loss, after stand-in Tigers skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto won the toss on a good batting pitch. Jadeja took a miserly 2-38 from his 10 overs and Yadav 1-47. Tanzid Hasan, whose 51 was the left-hander's maiden ODI fifty, and Liton Das (66) shared a fine opening stand while facing Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj only for Bangladesh to slump to 137-4. The 22-year-old Tanzid, whose highest score in eight previous ODIs was 16, completed a 41-ball fifty before he was lbw to left-arm wrist-spinner Yadav.
Liton was still there but he carelessly lofted Jadeja to long-off.
India were a bowler down after Hardik Pandya managed just three balls in the ninth over before limping off with ankle damage.
Kohli, bowling in an ODI for the first time in six years, completed Pandya's over.
Mushfiqur Rahim's 38 and fellow veteran Mahmudullah's 46 bolstered Bangladesh's total.
But with left-arm spinner and regular skipper Shakib Al Hasan sidelined following the thigh injury suffered during Friday's eight-wicket loss to New Zealand in Chennai, it never looked enough.
India's quest for a third World Cup title continues against New Zealand in Dharamsala on Sunday, with Bangladesh facing South Africa in Mumbai.
Dharamshala: India beats New Zealand, after 2003
Partha Bhaduri, Oct 23, 2023: The Times of India
From: Partha Bhaduri, Oct 23, 2023: The Times of India
India’s World Cup campaign acquired an aura of invincibility, and more than a dash of inevitability, with a four-wicket victory over New Zealand chasing 274.
Five games in, the law of averages has not applied to this team so far. At the centre of this powerful vortex consuming all in its path is the eye of the storm, Virat Kohli, the calm epicentre, the glue who binds the diverse elements and brazenly attempts to scale both tall run-chases and some stratospheric landmarks which are in his sights.
The epoch-making 49th ton which would have equalled Sachin Tendulkar’s ODI tally nearly happened on Sunday, but Kohli faltered on 95 (104b; 8x4, 2x6), going for a six and falling to a Matt Henry slower delivery with five runs still needed for victory.
With the long tail exposed and captain Rohit Sharma looking on, incredulous, Ravindra Jadeja (39 not out off 44; 3x4, 1x6) at the other end calmly fashioned the winning runs, laying to rest the ghosts of India’s semifinal defeat to the same team in the 2019 edition. Incidentally, Jadeja was batting for the first time in the World Cup since that game. The win not only broke a jinx stretching back to 2003 but ticked a lot of important boxes along the way. For one, India have a veteran pacer who can come off the bench and break the back of the Kiwi resistance with a fifer, as Mohammed Shami did with his 5/54.
Shami showed there is no alternative to the skills of a specialist in a crunch game, and though India needed two players to replace the injured Hardik Pandya — Shami and Suryakumar Yadav — they made the best of the bargain. Rarely are teams blessed with so many cricketers who have the ability to hit peak form when required, though Surya missed out on Sunday, sacrificing his wicket for Kohli amid some chaotic scenes.
The sacrifice was well worth it, as the ‘chasemaster’ again fashioned a tricky chase on a pitch with some inconsistent bounce in these high-altitude conditions, showcasing that he is still the spine in this batting order. All the others need to do is either set the early tempo with the bat, like Rohit Sharma does game after game, or bat around him, like KL Rahul and then Ravindra Jadeja did on Sunday. The template has worked like a charm so far in chases, as it has for years.
Kohli’s consistency is uncanny. He can absorb pressure by rotating strike, swat away the bad balls for boundaries — even square drive some good ones or charge down the ground to the pacers — and break a target down by eliminating any notion of prevailing chaos. Kohli is still relentlessly driving both this team and his ambitions forward.
Even the boxes India did not tick — like chief spinner Kuldeep Yadav leaking runs and being unable to prise an opening in the middle overs, or the surprisingly poor catching on view, or Shreyas Iyer giving in to his ego and falling to yet another short delivery — did not hurt them. Daryl Mitchell’s spectacular, counterattacking 127-ball 130 couldn’t take his team over the line as Shami stemmed the tide.
With India 230/5 in 41 overs and needing 44 more from 54 balls, with only the long tail to come, the tense crowd sensed its moment and came alive, infusing energy in the proceedings with its “Kohli, Kohli” chants. It was again all about the man. Would a 49th ton happen? This wasn’t as sealed a deal as the Bangladesh affair, though, and Jadeja had other ideas.
He danced down to Rachin Ravindra, who had forged a fine partnership with Mitchell earlier to again showcase his worth. The shot went high over midwicket for six as the fielder slipped near the boundary, no doubt undone by the poor condition of the Dharamshala outfield. Kohli still went for it, and eventually it was one hit too many.
The win was set up in the initial overs of the game, as Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj’s new-ball spell tied the Kiwis up in knots. Devon Conway fell early, the nerves set in, and the Kiwi batters had a poor first Powerplay, allowing the two pacers to settle on their lengths. It wasn’t until Mitchell came in and showed the pluck to stand outside his crease or dance down the wicket that the runs started coming.
Shami did the rest, taking a wicket with his first ball in the World Cup and posing happy questions for the team management. This wasn’t an easy win by any means, but India right now seem untouched by notions of the ordinary. Even the hill mist which descended here in the late evening and disrupted the game for a quarter of an hour couldn’t break the winning run.
Lucknow: India beats England
Partha Bhaduri, Oct 30, 2023: The Times of India
From: Partha Bhaduri, Oct 30, 2023: The Times of India
Lucknow : India’s World Cup campaign officially gained invincibility status.
Poor England. Down and out on their luck, they were seemingly having a good time until first Jasprit Bumrah (3/32 in 6.5 overs) and then Mohammed Shami (4/22 in 7) — those two fiery, relentless avenging angels of pace and fizz and seam and genius — turned the new white ball into a screaming, spherical weapon of mass destruction under lights. The pace duo’s effort killed any ambitions Jos Buttler’s men may have nurtured about resurrecting their doomed campaign. It also gave India their sixth consecutive victory. Clearly, this is not a team that believes in the law of averages. India won by 100 runs in 34.5 overs after putting up what at first looked a below-par 229/9 batting first.
Chasing 230 on a challenging pitch where even some of India’s best batters struggled, and with the dew coming in, England experienced a false dawn — Siraj bowled too full and the boundaries flowed from the bat of Dawid Malan. A score of 26 for no loss after four overs during a tricky chase can always soothe the nerves. To be fair, it was over before England could say “Boom, Boom” in tune with the MC here at the Ekana stadium. Fifth ball of the fifth over, Bumrah, always questioning with that in-between, just short of good length deliveries, got Malan to chop on, the batter shaping up for a cut shot and finding no room.
Next ball, Joe Root — with his poor returns whenever he comes out to bat between overs 1-10 already the talk of the town — was plumb legbefore. Pitched up, skiddy, keeping low, stuck flush on the pads in front of the stumps. Bumrah leapt high and punched the air. Fifty thousand people at the Ekana stadium heaved in unison and let out a collective yell of triumph. Root trudged off, but not before wasting a DRS call.
Up next, eighth over, a Shami masterclass for Ben Stokes. Around the wicket to the left-hander, angling in, then seaming away. The batter, left repeatedly frustrated by the back-of-a-length deliveries, eventually looked to hit his way out of jail. The ball was fuller and it clattered the exposed stumps. A 10-ball duck. Shades of Virat Kohli’s impatient 9-ball duck earlier in the day. England 33/3. First ball of Shami’s next over, Jonny Bairstow, on the backfoot, dragged one on to the stumps. Shami was on a hat-trick now. England were 39/4 and the game was virtually dead in 9.1 overs.
Any hopes of a rebuilding phase were nipped in the bud by leggie Kuldeep Yadav snaring Buttler and Livingstone. Even with the dew setting in heavily, the spinners were not easy to get away. India too had lost a flurry of early wickets when they batted, but the perspicacity of Rohit Sharma (87 off 101 balls; 10x4, 3x6), and with his sheer skill with the bat, saved the day. KL Rahul contributed in a 91-run partnership to resurrect the innings before a fluent Suryakumar took the score to safety. The rest were unable to soak up the pressure.
Where do India go from here? They have a few important pointers after having batted first for the first time in this tournament. They need to play the waiting game better. The addition of Suryakumar adds punch to the lineup. They cannot drop Shami now, on any surface.
