Hosts India continued their winning streak in the ongoing ICC ODI World Cup, making it six wins in a row with the thumping victory over defending champions England.
In a low-scoring contest, India put on a seemingly below par 229 for 9 after being sent into bat by England skipper Jos Buttler. But it turned out to be more than enough as India bowlers led by Mohammed Shami (4-22) and Jasprit Bumrah (3-32) bundled out England for 129 in 34.5 overs.
“Extraordinary batting on this kind of pitch. Especially, when wickets are falling on the other side, it’s very difficult to show such intent and put bowlers under pressure,” former Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq said on ‘A Sports’, praising India captain’s knock.
Misbah was very impressed with the way Rohit built his innings on the challenging Lucknow pitch.
“No doubt, they got a decent start but after that they lost three quick wickets. And it was three big wickets for them. The way he played after losing the wicket of Virat Kohli. To play as an anchor as well to put pressure on bowlers and did not allow the match to go out of hands. He took the scoring rate from around 4 to above it by 30 overs or so,” Misbah added.
The former Pakistan coach Misbah also lauded the Indian batting line-up for respecting the conditions.
“The best part of the Indian batting line-up is knowing the situation and conditions of the game and respecting it, while preparing to push forward against the opposition at the right time. That was I think was the quality of this innings,” Misbah said.
Former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Moin Khan was pretty impressed with the way Suryakumar played his innings against England.
“It clearly shows how there is healthy competition within the Indian team. It is reflective of that here. Every player is playing to cement their place in the starting XI, and playing to contribute something to take the team towards World Cup glory. I think Suryakumar is one of those players, who if they remain in the crease you can’t stop their runs,” Moin said.
“If we compare batters from both the sides, he is the only one who scored with a strike rate above 100. That’s why it is very important for teams to dismiss such players early, because as long as they are there in the middle they will keep scoring the runs. He has this mindset to score runs from every delivery, play shots and put pressure on the bowlers. He always hits sixes and is known as a 360 degree batter,” Moin said praising Surya’s abilities.
World Cup 2023: India beat England by 100 runs, Rohit Sharma is Player of the Match
With the unbeaten streak intact, India reclaimed top spot in the World Cup points table and will play Sri Lanka on Thursday.