India vs England, World Cup 2023: Shami shows he's more than just a replacement with fiery spell in Lucknow

And, just like that, England have lost another game of the 2023 ODI World Cup. This time, to hosts India.

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Once again, it was the batting that let the team down, but they’re mathematically not out of the World Cup yet.

However, with five defeats in six matches, all England can get from their next three games will be six points, and add their win over Bangladesh earlier in the tournament, England would have eight points in total.

That may not be enough for England, considering other teams like Afghanistan and Sri Lanka (Or even Bangladesh to an extent) are playing catch up with the current top four.

But, qualification scenarios apart, if England bat like the way they batted against India on Sunday, they can be very well be sure to pack their bags up and take their next flight back home.

Unbeatable Mohammed Shami sets the ball rolling

India had to rely on Rohit Sharma’s 101-ball 87 and Suryakumar Yadav’s 49 to get to 229/9 from 50 overs. The top order crumbled under pressure, whereas Rohit and KL Rahul stabilised the hosts’ innings in the middle overs to help them get to what could be considered as a ‘respectable’ total.

If we were to categorise this faceoff between the defending champions and the hosts, it was always going to be a battle between India’s pace attack, which is the team’s strength, against England’s batting lineup, which is their weakness.

It was prevalent that England batters lacked clarity in what they had to do. The equation was pretty simple: Get to the target of 230 runs from as many as 50 overs. There was enough time for the visitors to build one good partnership or two, that would have at least set up a platform for them to go on and seal that win.

IND vs ENG | Rohit’s 87, Shami and Bumrah’s spells and other key moments

India were once again missing Hardik Pandya due to an ankle injury, but that was no problem for the hosts whatsoever. Yes, their batting lineup may have looked as though it lacked balance, but their frontline pace attack consisting of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj were always going to be a threat.

Bumrah’s yorkers were unplayable, and Shami consistently bowled at tight lines, troubling the opposition batters. Mohammed Siraj was probably the one among the three who had trouble dealing with the England openers.

So much so that, Malan went for a six over deep midwicket followed by a four, both in the second over to frustrate Siraj. Siraj would also get punished by Bairstow for a boundary in the fourth over, slotting between the cover and mid-off region for a four.

Bumrah, however, would draw first blood with the wickets of Malan and Joe Root.

Malan looked to cut away this length ball from Bumrah, but eventually got an inside edge that crashed the stumps.

IND vs ENG | Rohit’s notable feat, England’s forgettable record and other stats

Joe Root, who had been England’s best batter at the start of the tournament, then got struck LBW. It was a huge appeal from Bumrah and his teammates, and was given, but Root went ahead with the review. Although it did seem like there was an inside edge that would have saved Root, the spike on UltraEdge was before the ball had passed the bat.

Mohammed Shami vs Ben Stokes was one of the most enticing duels in this match. Shami would consistently unleash length balls to Stokes, but the latter would not get enough on the bat and ended up playing a few defensive strokes.

Mohammed Shami Vs Ben Stokes was a one sided battle. pic.twitter.com/U7iSnIk1zS

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) October 29, 2023

It was just a matter of time before Stokes perished, because the all-rounder looked quite uncomfortable with Shami.

Stokes had got beaten on the edge by Shami on a couple of occasions, and this was coming. Shami went round the wicket on this occasion, and Stokes went for the hoick, only for the southpaw to get undone by Shami’s pace before being cleaned up.

In his very next delivery, albeit at the start of his next over, Shami would go on to clean up Bairstow with a length ball that took the inside edge that went through to the thigh pad as Bairstow looked for the cut.

The focus swiftly shifted to the spinners. Kuldeep Yadav was certainly the headline-maker among spinners. India’s job in the defence of their modest total was half done, when Kuldeep got rid of Jos Buttler.

 

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To dismiss Buttler, Kuldeep would launch a tossed up delivery with a lot of turn. On the occasion, Buttler was looking to punch on the back foot against Kuldeep, but even before he could make a move, the ball raced through the gap between bat and pad to hit top  of the middle stump.

Read | Rohit Sharma hails India for showing ‘lot of character’ against England

England were 52/5 at this stage, and Shami would go onto inflict more misery, with the wickets of Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid.

Ravindra Jadeja, too, chipped in with the wicket of Chris Woakes, but the limelight on Sunday was certainly on Mohammed Shami.

Shami has certainly made a case for himself and the team. He was only in the playing XIs for the games against New Zealand and England as a mere bowling replacement for the injured Hardik Pandya, but in reality, Shami has shown that he is much more than a replacement.

The return of Shami has provided a huge competition for Mohammed Siraj, who has been a victim of conceding bit too many runs despite taking wickets. His four-star performance on Sunday only makes Shami’s case stronger, so when Hardik is back up and running, it will be interesting to see the possible team combinations. Will the team management drop Siraj? Or will Siraj retain his place and Hardik be the fourth pacer once he is back?

These are questions that will need to be answered closer to Hardik’s return, because Shami has now shown that he cannot be overlooked. He is the man for the big occasions. With his pace and versatile seam movement, anything is possible to decimate the opposition. Just like he did on Sunday, in front of a Lucknow crowd that was filled with a sea of blue.

IND vs ENG | Netizens hail India’s ‘special’ win over England in Lucknow

For now, India sit atop the standings with 12 points out of 12, but in a tournament like the World Cup things can drastically change. Having said that, England, in last place with two points, are still mathematically alive.

India next face Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium, the scene of the 2011 World Cup final, on 2 November, whereas England face a litmus test against Australia on 4 November.