Birmingham: The stage was set for a vintage M.S. Dhoni finish as India needed 104 off the last 10 overs with the former India skipper just in and warming up at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground Sunday.
But his attempt to take the game deep saw India left with 57 needed off the last 18 balls. In the end, India finished on 306/5 as England registered a 31-run win, their first over India in 27 years in World Cups. The win saw England stay alive with a chance to qualify for the semi-final stages as Rohit Sharmas 102 went in vain.
“…we weren’t clinical with the bat I suppose, because the wicket was flat. We should have accelerated and gotten closer, but they (England) bowled superbly,” said Indian captain Virat Kohli.
“If we were clinical with the bat, if the dismissals didn’t happen at that time, the result could have been different. We had a decent chance, when they (Pant and Pandya) were in there to strike a few and get closer to the target and trigger panic in their (England) dressing room. We kept losing wickets and that doesn’t help in a big chase,” he added.
Brief Scores: England: 337/7 (Bairstow 111, Stokes 79; Shami 5/69); India: 306/5 (Rohit 102; Plunkett 3/55)
Here’s how the world of cricket reacted on Twitter:
Good evening India 👍👍👍
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) June 30, 2019
https://twitter.com/KP24/status/1145379480330014720
The unbeaten run comes to an end. A hard day at the office for the boys. The business end of the tournament is still up for grabs. Come on boys let’s regroup and get back on track. #INDvENG #CWC19
— Suresh Raina🇮🇳 (@ImRaina) June 30, 2019
Sadly for Sri Lankan fans, this result means their campaign is over.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) June 30, 2019
Congrats England 👏 @ECB_cricket & @Eoin16… a good day out…. just the tonic 🥂#oncue 👌@cricketworldcup
— Danny Morrison (@SteelyDan66) June 30, 2019
England’s fielding has been phenomenal. That Woakes catch of Pant was one of the catches of the tournament. Hardik the key #IndvEng
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) June 30, 2019
This is India's first loss during the league stage of a #CWC since losing to South Africa at Nagpur in 2011. Since then had won 12 consecutive matches during the league stage.#EngvInd#IndvEng#CWC19#CWC2019
— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) June 30, 2019
PNN/Agencies