England's 3 highest run-scorers vs India in ODI World Cups ft. Andrew Strauss
If any team would find themselves the most dejected in this ODI World Cup, it has to be England, one of the tournament favorites.
Their campaign never really kicked in the required momentum, and their famed batting line-up failed culminatively together. The constant chopping and changing in structure of the XI didn't help England's cause either; they seemed to be confused about going with a particular plan.
From leaving out Jason Roy for Harry Brook; to making Ben Stokes come out of his ODI retirement for the World Cup; to going all-rounders heavy initially, then to specialists, and back to an all-rounders strategy, England's thinktank looked at the sea the whole time.
The "Three Lions" were also guilty of getting complacent with their bowling attack, which, in different conditions across different venues, was always going to be one of the deciding factors in this World Cup.
While they are not officially out of the competition and still have an outside chance, their destiny hinges on a thin rope. And when they will face the hosts, India, who are in red-hot form this tournament, England needs to play out of their skin to stay alive.
It will not be easy by any means for the "Three Lions" on a sluggish Lucknow pitch against the Indian spinners in Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja. However, they can take inspiration from their former batsmen, who have performed exceptionally well against India in World Cups.
In this article, we will discuss some of the English batsmen who have been the top performers for England with the bat against India in ODI World Cups.
#3 Dennis Amiss - 137 runs
Dennis Amiss, the first and one of the only two players in the history of ODI cricket to have scored a century on both his debut and his last match, is considered to be one of England's greats.
He played one World Cup match against India, in which he scored a sensational 137 runs with 18 boundaries to his name.
This continued to be the highest personal score for any English batsman against India in World Cups for almost 35 years.
#2 Andrew Strauss - 158 runs
Former English skipper Andrew Strauss finds himself second on the list with 158 runs, which he scored in the only World Cup match he played against India in 2011.
Strauss played probably one of the greatest World Cup knocks for the "Three Lions" when he almost won the game for his side with his stupendous knock before Zaheer Khan's death-over bowling masterclass made sure the game ended in a tie.
#1 Graham Gooch - 166 runs
One of the all-time greatest English batsmen, Graham Gooch, loved playing against India, and in ODI World Cups, it was no different either.
In a career spanning about 25 years (including a first-class career), he represented the "Three Lions" in two World Cups against India and amassed 166 runs in matches, with a memorable knock of 115 in the 1987 World Cup in India.