LONDON: England beat India by 31 runs as they keep their hopes for a spot in the semi-finals alive.
Virat Kohli-led Indian team will be very disappointed with their performance as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli had batted really well for the second wicket partnership and brought India back in the game but English bowlers fought back and made sure India did not take the game away from them.
With this, India has lost the first game in the World Cup and now they will have to make sure they win against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
England captain Eoin Morgan had won the toss and decided to bat first. Riding on Jonny Bairstow’s brilliant century, England managed to post 337 on the board. During the innings, Jason Roy (66 off 57) and Jonny Bairstow (111 off 109) provided England with a brilliant platform which allowed Ben Stokes to go after the Indian bowlers in the death overs.
Mohammad Shami was the pick of the bowlers for India as he took his first five-wicket haul in a World Cup. Jasprit Bumrah was good as well and kept things tight throughout the match but England still managed to get 337.
Earlier, Jonny Bairstow scored his first World Cup hundred against India but got out at 109 after he got caught at the boundary. Jason Roy also played well but was dismissed after taking a blinder to help India get their first wicket of the match.
This is a knockout game for England and they will be hoping to solidify their position on the points table by getting a win under their belt. India played with one change — Rishabh Pant replaced Vijay Shankar as the latter got injured his toe during a practice session.
Rishabh Pant could not make the most of his opportunities on his World Cup debut. Hardik Pandya was good once again but he failed to bat till the end of the innings. Eoin Morgan will be very happy with his team’s performance after losing three matches in the tournament. It will be very difficult for Pakistan and Bangladesh to qualify from here. India will play their next match against Bangladesh on July 2.
