Blowing Away The Sri Lankans
Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.
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By Linus Garg
First publised on 2023-11-03 06:22:49
About the Author
Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.
View all posts by this Author
There is something about the Sri Lankan batters which makes Md Siraj come up with a special performance. It was so in the Asia Cup final a few months ago and it happened again on Thursday in the ODI World Cup. Siraj started his spell as if on fire and took three wickets in seven balls to reduce them to 4 wickets for just three runs. Before that, Jasprit Bumrah bowled the perfect first ball of an innings to trap the in-form P Nissanka leg before for a duck and in the process became the first Indian bowler in history to claim a wicket with the first ball of an innings. The Lankans could not recover from these blows. To add salt to their wounds, Md Shami bowled a destructive spell to take 5 wickets for just 18 runs (he was adjudged the Player of the Match) to bowl the Lankans out for 55 and give India a 302 run victory. The Indian bowlers showed once again why they are considered the best in the world now. The relentless way in which they kept up their line and length and bowled at a scorching pace on a pitch which was considered placid and full of runs (the Indian batters had shown that by putting up 356 runs on the board) was a treat to watch and too much for the Lankans to handle. No team in this World Cup has found answers to the questions posed by the Indian bowlers for whom the surface does not seem to matter anymore. They bowl with unmatched passion and zing and are regularly bowling out teams much before the quota of 50 overs.
When India batted, Rohit Sharma missed out on the opportunity as he misread the line of a Madushanka delivery to be bowled on the second ball he faced after hitting the first for a four. But Shubman Gill (92) and Virat Kohli (88) did not miss out (although they missed well-deserved centuries). Gill showed why he is considered the heir apparent to Kohli as he was sublime in his run-a-ball innings. Later, Shreyas Iyer (82) and Ravindra Jadeja (35 not out) finished in style as India became the only team to post 356 without a single century from any of the batters.
This win put the unbeaten Indians on the top of the table with 14 points from 7 matches. But their net run-rate is still lower than South Africa who they face next in a much-anticipated battle on Sunday at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata. As the South African batters are in tremendous form in the tournament and the Indian bowlers are on fire, this is one battle that cricket lovers would not like to miss. Already, tickets for the match are selling at stupendous premium in the black market.
