"Bazball is only effective on England pitches & on Pakistan roads"- Fans roast England after their crushing loss against India in 2023 World Cup
England slumped to their fourth consecutive loss in the 2023 World Cup on Sunday (October 29). Team India beat them comfortably by 100 runs at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.
After losing five matches out of their six games so far, England are now sitting at the last position in the points table. There are still some slim mathematical chances for the defending champions to make it to the semi-finals.
England were the happier side after the first innings of the match on Sunday. After asking India to bat first on a two-paced surface, the English bowlers performed well and restricted the hosts to 229/9 in 50 overs. David Willey (3/45) was impressive in the bowling department. Adil Rashid (2/35) and Chris Woakes (2/33) also chipped in with effective spells.
Dawid Malan (16) and Jonny Bairstow (14) then began the chase briskly by hitting a few boundaries to take their side to 30/0 in 4.4 overs. Things looked good for England till this juncture, but their fortunes changed drastically after Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Malan and Joe Root off the next two balls.
Mohammed Shami complemented Bumrah perfectly by cleaning up Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow soon after to put India in the driver's seat. The English batting line-up crumbled under pressure against the quality Indian bowling attack from there and skittled out for 129 in 34.5 overs.
Fans were not impressed with England's poor batting performance. They roasted them for the same through X (formerly Twitter). Here are some of the top reactions:
"Same old story"- England captain Jos Buttler after dismal loss against India
At the post-match presentation, English skipper Jos Buttler reflected on the disappointing defeat against India and said:
"Very disappointed. At the halfway stage, chasing 230 seeing how well we bowled as well, we should have fancied ourselves. Same old story. I wasn't sure if the dew would come or not. Just the gut feel said that we had to chase. I think we've bowled this tournament to create pressure for wickets. If we were given 230 at the halfway stage we'd have been happy with that."
Buttler continued:
"I wanted to soak some pressure up and break that momentum that India had. It wasn't about scoreboard pressure but about coming through that phase. We're falling short whichever way we're doing it at the moment. Some top players and we're a long way short of our best."
On positives from the game and the road ahead, Buttler added:
"A great start in the powerplay from the bowlers. The guys found some movement there. The ground fielding was as good as it's been. It felt today was the day that it was all turning around but the way we batted we didn't back that up. We've still got lots to play for."
Do you think England can win their remaining three games in the 2023 World Cup and end their campaign on a positive note? Sound off in the comments section.