England beat India to keep WC hopes alive

A brilliant 111 from Jonny Bairstow and a brisk half century from Ben Stokes was ably supplemented by the bowlers as England sealed a 31-run win over India in their ICC Cricket World Cup clash at Edgbaston yesterday.

With Jason Roy fit, Eoin Morgan won the toss and batted first. Roy, raring to go, started the match in emphatic fashion – confidently dispatching the in-form Mohammad Shami to the fence twice in the opening over. 

Roy’s return seemed to inject a new lease of life into his regular partner Jonny Bairstow. Reunited after more than two weeks apart, the pair played with uncharacteristic caution against the dangerous new ball pair of Shami and Jasprit Bumrah.

They bided their time and in what was clearly a premeditated plan, they went after India’s spinners. Roy eventually fell for 66 – he was caught superbly by substitute fielder Ravi Jadeja – while Bairstow built on his good start to record his first World Cup century. Ben Stokes then continued his fine World Cup form to help England post a more than competitive total of 337 for seven.

England nearly started their defence perfectly. Chris Woakes managed to pick up the early wicket of K. L. Rahul but India looked good with both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli at the crease.

Liam Plunkett broke their crucial stand, sending back Kohli for 66. Rohit, who scored his third hundred of the tournament, was dismissed for 102 with India still needing another 140 runs to win. 

Rishabh Pant (32) and Hardik Pandya (45) also got good starts, but Plunkett had other plans. He dismissed both the set batsmen and India eventually fell 31 runs short of the target. 
England: 337/7 in 50 overs (J. Roy 66, J. Bairstow 111, J. Root 44, B. Stokes 79, J. Buttler 20, Shami 5/69)

India: 306/5 in 50 overs (R. Sharma 102, V. Kohli 66, R. Pant 32, H. Pandya 45, M. Dhoni 42 n.o, C. Woakes 2/58, L. Plunkett 3/55). ICC

With Jason Roy fit, Eoin Morgan won the toss and batted first. Roy, raring to go, started the match in emphatic fashion – confidently dispatching the in-form Mohammad Shami to the fence twice in the opening over