3 players who starred and 2 who flopped for India in the World Cup 2023 match vs England ft. Jasprit Bumrah & Virat Kohli
Team India pushed England further into the abyss as they hammered the defending champions by a whopping 100-run margin in Lucknow on Sunday, October 29.
With the win, the Men in Blue consolidated their position at the top of the table. They have six wins from as many matches and the second-best net run rate in the competition. England, meanwhile, are rooted to the bottom and have recorded just two points so far.
India are in an excellent position to qualify for the knockouts, and they've had contributions from almost all their players in the tournament. Some, however, couldn't come to the party on Sunday.
On that note, here are three players who starred and two who flopped for Team India in their World Cup 2023 match against England.
#5 Star - Rohit Sharma
India's captain has been in an excellent run of form in the 2023 World Cup, and he played one of the best innings of the tournament against England. Weathering a challenging spell in the powerplay, Rohit Sharma ensured that his side had a batter at the crease through a period in which they lost three early wickets.
There was movement on offer throughout the innings for the fast bowlers, and the spinners found some purchase as well. After three of India's top four were dismissed for single-digit scores, Rohit dug in and rotated strike while putting away anything in his arc.
The opener was eventually dismissed for 87, but not before he had given India a real chance of posting a defendable total with a terrific knock. His captaincy was effective as well.
#4 Flop - Shreyas Iyer
One of the trio who failed on Sunday, Shreyas Iyer had a torrid time in Lucknow. He made four runs off 16 balls and was the third Indian wicket to fall, leaving them at 40/3 in the 12th over.
Unfortunately, it was Shreyas' weakness against the short ball that came to haunt him once again. He has tried to counter it by being aggressive, namely pulling and hooking, but Chris Woakes achieved the perfect height on his delivery. India's No. 4 was caught neither here nor there as he spooned an easy catch.
Shreyas has played a couple of important cameos this World Cup, but he hasn't been able to stamp his authority yet. Having an obvious hole in his game doesn't help, and he needs to find a way around it at the earliest.
#3 Star - Jasprit Bumrah
Chasing 230, Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow ensured that England didn't start the chase behind the eight ball. The former was particularly aggressive, striking a four and a six in the second over to set the ball rolling.
India needed something special to break the opening stand and worm themselves into the game, and it was their spearhead who provided the breakthrough. Jasprit Bumrah, one of the standout bowlers of the World Cup so far, forced Malan to chop on before trapping Joe Root in front off the very next delivery.
Bumrah didn't ease up after that and maintained relentless accuracy throughout his five-over spell in the powerplay. The rest of the bowlers chipped in too, but it was the star man who was the gamechanger in the second innings.
#2 Flop - Virat Kohli
A player who has had an excellent World Cup on the whole, Virat Kohli endured a rare failure against England. And it was completely his own doing.
Kohli played eight dot balls to start his innings as Chris Woakes and David Willey hit superb areas in the powerplay. Forced to try and get a move on, the star batter danced down and tried to loft Willey down the ground. Unfortunately, though, he only managed to hand a simple catch to Ben Stokes at mid-off.
Kohli's intent was worthy of appreciation, but the conditions weren't good enough to warrant him playing such a shot. He should've played out the new ball before taking risks in the middle overs, when batting became slightly easier.
#1 Star - Mohammed Shami
Mohammed Shami morphs into a different bowler in World Cups, and the ongoing edition has already provided two examples of the same. Following up on his stellar spell against New Zealand, the fast bowler came up with a deadly display to put England on the mat.
Shami was needed early in the powerplay after a couple of expensive overs from Mohammed Siraj, and he didn't waste any time. He tormented Ben Stokes before forcing the English southpaw into an ungainly heave across the line, a shot that resulted in the stumps being disturbed.
Shami then went on to dismiss Jonny Bairstow and later broke a burgeoning partnership between Moeen Ali and Liam Livingstone by having the former caught behind. He also castled Adil Rashid as the hosts marched towards a dominant victory.
Shami always seems to make something happen and is in lethal form right now.