Over 50 overs in England, bowling with venom and fielding with spirit and commitment, cracked and cracked. And then they burst. Chasing 230, their fragile batting was mercilessly exposed by the excellent opposition and they were bowled out for just 129. In six matches, India maintained their 100% record and returned to the top of the group; England remain at the bottom.
Although the eventual winning margin, exactly 100, was extremely comfortable, England had India worried for a while, something of a triumph in the circumstances.
This team has developed a nasty habit of self-igniting over the past few weeks, but on this occasion they were simply outdone. Not every defeat, even one of this scale, is a humiliation, although this tournament has certainly been one, and their innings was woefully familiar with how it faltered and failed.
Dawid Malan went first and drove into the stumps. Joe Root lasted one ball which headed low into his pads. The magnificent Jasprit Bumrah was the bowler on both occasions, and if Malan was a bit unlucky, Root was extraordinary in having to deal with such a delivery first. Root’s bat waved his hand in annoyance as his check failed – despite the mere hint of a jolt on the UltraEdge, which had started before the ball reached him anyway – he was no more useful than the one that had just swung at the ball.
England put in at least a half-decent performance that must count as progress. Their bowlers were relentless, their fielding full of commitment and quality. The moment that summed up their display in the field came in the seventh match, the very point during their two previous matches when England crumbled after promising starts. This time, Virat Kohli tried to drive David Willey through cover, only for Malan to dive to his left and save the bouncing ball perfectly. Four runs became none and two balls later, Kohli played straight to Stokes at mid-off, who was dismissed for a nine-ball duck facing only Willey.
Shubman Gill had already gone for nine, Chris Woakes shot him beautifully through the wicket. Once reliable, Woakes had turned into a miserable obstacle in the opening three weeks of this tournament, but here he was recognisable, and in the 12th over, Shreyas Iyer tried to pull the ball in at an angle to his body and top-edged to mid-off. . Woakes has bowled seven more opening spells in just 23 overs in all, a surprising improvement on his first three World Cup matches.
It is bizarre that England are still not out of this competition and after the guillotine fall, they will have plenty of motivation for their three remaining games. Before the match, it was revealed that the qualification process for the next Champions Trophy had been changed – in 2021, without a whisper of public announcement – so that only the top seven teams in the group stage of that tournament (or eight, if hosts Pakistan, are among the seven) would be involved . Surprisingly, although the England and Wales Cricket Board was informed at the time, nobody in the England camp had any idea. Their players might not mind a bit of time off at the start of 2025, but their absence would be a shame, and they’ve had plenty of those lately.
