In Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, India defeated Sri Lanka by 302 runs because to flawless performances from both bowling and batting units. Despite losing Rohit Sharma early in the batting order, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli rose to the situation and produced some amazing cricket to set the tone for the game. Kohli scored 88 runs, while Shubman Gill managed to reach 92, both of them missing their respective hundreds. Shreyas Iyer demonstrated his class towards the end of the innings by hitting 82 runs off of just 56 deliveries.
In the chase, the Lankan Lions were bowled out for just 55 runs as the Indian pacers once again shocked Sri Lanka’s batting lineup. While Mohammed Siraj claimed three wickets, Mohammed Shami once again amassed a five-for. Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja, who each took one wicket, led India to a resounding victory that secured their place in the ODI World Cup semifinals.
India batting team strikes once more
Before the game, there was a lot of talk about Shubman Gill’s form, but the opener recovered with some amazing cricket. He had good help from Virat Kohli, and Shreyas Iyer handled business towards the end. India amassed 357 runs in the first innings thanks to their influential knocks, which ultimately turned out to be more than sufficient.
Mohammed Siraj dominates the upper echelon
Similar to Shreyas Iyer, Mohammed Siraj’s place in the starting XI was in jeopardy because Hardik Pandya was anticipated to return shortly. Siraj, however, completely shook the Lankan batting order to give India an ideal start.
Never give up. Shami Mohammed
After missing a few games due to injury, Mohammed Shami returned to the playing XI and hasn’t been able to be stopped. He added another five-for, and in just three games, he has claimed 14 wickets, which is just incredible.
Losing skipper Kusal Mendis said:
I am very disappointed with the team’s performance, with myself also. They bowled really well, little bit of seam movement under lights as well. Unfortunately, we lost the match. I wanted to bowl first because I felt the wicket would be slow in the first half. Madushanka bowled really well and we missed taking chances from Virat and Gill and sometimes those moments could change the game. Our bowlers did well in the middle overs. They bowled really well in the first 6 overs, and I think they deserve all the credit tonight. We have another 2 games and I hope we come back strong in the next game.
Winning skipper Rohit Sharma said:
Very happy knowing that we have officially qualified now. Been a good effort from the squad, when we started off in Chennai. This was our goal, to qualify first and then obviously to be in the semis and the finals. The way we approached these 7 games, it was quite clinical. Everyone put in the effort and a lot of individuals have put their hand up. Was a good challenge to put runs on the board, and that’s the kind of template you gotta have when you want to score that many runs.
350 on any pitch is a very good score and a lot of credit to the batting unit for taking us to that score and the bowlers did the job obviously. Shreyas is a very strong (in his mind) lad and today, as you saw, he went there and did what he is exactly known for and that is what we expect from him. Showed that he is ready to take the challenge that is in front of him and Siraj is another quality bowler for us and if he does that (making the new ball talk) things look different for us. He (Siraj) has got a lot of skills when he is operating with the new ball.
Even Surya, for that matter, got us some crucial runs in the back end of the last game. To put in a performance back-to-back against England and now today, shows the quality of the seamers and if there is something in the conditions, they are quite lethal. All in all, it was pleasing to watch (bowlers dominating proceedings) and I hope they continue to do it that way.
I have left it to the bowler and the keeper (whether or not to take a review) to make that decision for me, and I gotta find the individuals I can trust and I know it can go the other way as well. We got one right and one wrong today. They (South Africa) are playing some good cricket, and so are we. It’s gonna be a great spectacle for the people out there and People of Kolkata are gonna enjoy that game.
POTM Mohammed Shami said:
Our bowling is in good shape and with the kind of rhythm (talking about the form of the pacers) that we are in, everyone is enjoying and everyone is happy for each other’s success and more importantly, we are bowling as a unit and that’s the result you are getting to see. I always try to bowl in good areas and be in good rhythm. In big tournaments, once the rhythm goes away, it’s very tough to get it back. I always focus on hitting the good areas and length.
Very happy (on becoming India’s leading wicket-taker in World Cups) It’s very important to be in rhythm in white ball cricket and hit the good areas. If you hit the good areas with the new ball you will get assistance off the pitch and for me length matters a lot. The kind of support we get from the crowd, I want to thank each and every one of them. We also get a lot of support whenever we travel outside India as well. The dressing room is in a very good space.