Virat Kohli & Co go down fighting by 31 runs after England post massive 337-7
Virat Kohli
Birmingham: For the first time in this World Cup, the Indian bowlers were taken to the cleaners and after England posted a formidable 337 for seven, it was always going to be a tough task for India to overhaul.
The Indian batsmen battled till the end, but failed to maintain their unbeaten run despite Rohit Sharma (102) getting his third century of the tournament. Till Virat Kohli and Rohit were at the crease there was some hope, but once the Indian skipper departed for 66 after a 138-run stand, it was virtually the end of an unlikely victory.
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England opener Jonny Bairstow during his 109-ball 111 against India at Edgbaston yesterday. Pic/Bipin patel
The 31-run win has kept the hosts' chances of making the semi-finals alive, while for India not much damage has been done as they just need to win at least one of their last two games, against Bangladesh here on Tuesday and Sri Lanka in Leeds on July 6, to make it to the Last 4.
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After opting to bat on a flat Edgbaston pitch, the England batsmen put the Indian bowling to the sword, with the two wrist spinners Yuzvendra Chahal (0-88) and Kuldeep Yadav (1-72) going for 160 runs. And though pacer Mohammed Shami had a five-wicket haul (5-69), his last three overs went for 44 runs with Ben Stokes playing a blinder — 79 from just 54 balls.
England were desperately looking up to the now-fit Jason Roy and he did not disappoint on his comeback from injury. He formed a formidable alliance with Jonny Bairstow. The opening stand of 160 in 22 overs set the tone of the innings and though the Indian bowlers managed to pull things back in the middle overs, with Shami picking up quick wickets, England had enough firepower in their batting to go beyond 330. For India, it was nice to see Rishabh Pant scoring 32 off 29 on World Cup debut.
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