New Delhi:
The India vs England clash in Edgbaston was a high-stakes match for many of the teams. A win for India could have sealed their spot in the semi-final while a loss for England would have thrown the door open for Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan to reach the semi-finals. However, Jonny Bairstow blasted a hundred and aggressive fifties by Ben Stokes and Jason Roy helped England reach 337/7. In response, Rohit Sharma hit his 25th century and shared a 138-run stand with Virat Kohli but their slow approach meant they were playing catch-up for most of the time.
When Kohli and Rohit fell, the asking rate was already over nine and despite some aggressive knocks from Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant, England executed their plans brilliantly and ensured India did not end on a good note. When MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav struggled, the match petered out to a dull finish. Only 46 runs were scored off the last six overs and India lost by 31 runs. This did not go down well with the Indian fans who booed the team after the conclusion of the game.
Speaking about the match, Indian skipper Virat Kohli praised England’s execution of their plans. “Every team has lost a game or two here or there, you just have to accept that the opposition played a better game on the day. They were just more clinical in terms of the execution of their plans. We are still playing good cricket, and morale is still the same in the dressing room. We just have to brush this aside as professional cricketers, learn from it and move forward,” Kohli said.
India is only one win away from sealing their spot in the semi-final. If they win against Bangladesh tomorrow in Edgbaston, they will reach the semi-finals and knock Bangladesh out. If England beat New Zealand, then both India and England will seal their spot. New Zealand will have to hope that Pakistan does not beat Bangladesh by a massive margin in order to pip them on net run-rate. If Bangladesh wins both their games, then Pakistan will be knocked out.
