Team India bowlers wreaked havoc on England’s batting order on a tricky Lucknow surface, as the side picked the first four wickets within the opening 10 overs. Jasprit Bumrah began the carnage at an already-battered England side with two wickets in two balls, and Mohammed Shami delivered a repeat show a couple of overs later to put England on instant backfoot. While Ben Stokes and Joe Root departed for ducks, Dawid Malan (16) and Jonny Bairstow (14) also failed to make noteworthy contributions with the bat.
With Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali tasked to rebuild the innings, a modest 230-run target seemed daunting for England and things worsened for the side when spinner Kuldeep Yadav crushed their hopes further with an incredible delivery to Buttler. In the 16th over, Kuldeep, who was getting significant turn off the surface, bowled a beauty; coming from over the wicket, Kuldeep pitched the ball wide outside the off-stump and extracted an incredibly sharp turn into the batter.
Buttler, who had already committed for a push on the bounce, rejuggled his shot and failed to adjust to the turn in the process, as the ball beat Buttler’s edge by a daylight’s margin and smashed the stumps.
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England’s chase further deteriorated as Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes were also dismissed in quick succession. England are already on the brink of elimination with four wins in five matches so far, and another loss will all but seal their fate at the World Cup.
India, meanwhile, will retake the top position in the points table with a win in Lucknow. Earlier, Buttler had won the toss and opted to bowl, allowing India to bat first in the tournament so far. Rohit Sharma’s men had won all of their matches while chasing; and the side did face some difficulties while setting the target, losing a series of early wickets before Rohit Sharma (87), KL Rahul (39), and then Suryakumar Yadav (49) took the side to a competitive total in Lucknow.
