we have been skirting around this fact for a while, partly fearing our power to jinx things and partly due to respect for opponents and the competition, but it has become impossible now not to admit that Team India is currently in a league of their own. Impossible after the marauding Men in Blue dismantled and demolished 1996 champions Sri Lanka by a whopping 302 runs to become the first team to reach the semi-finals of the 2023 Cricket World Cup
It’s astounding how India have managed to perch themselves in a super exclusive club where they appear to be the only member in a 10-team World Cup which in itself is a snobbish closed group. If we follow the logic of having only 10 teams in a World Cup to ensure quality matches, then India have been so good so far, with seven one-sided wins in seven matches, that they probably should be declared the winner without bothering about the knockouts!
What else can you say after what transpired at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday? It’s slowly becoming impossible to explain the capitulation of the best cricketing teams against India.
Seam and swing
But Indian bowlers are in such “rhythm” that it took just 19.4 overs for them to complete the job. Sri Lanka lost their first wicket on the first ball of the innings when Jasprit Bumrah trapped Pathum Nissanka in front with a length ball that moved away just enough.
Mohammed Siraj took a wicket on his first ball and had three in just seven deliveries as Sri Lanka were reduced to 4/3. Mohammed Shami then took five overs to complete a record-breaking five-wicket haul as Sri Lanka’s fight was put to an end even before it began.
The execution from Sri Lanka batters was poor. Apart from the deliveries that had them LBW or broke the stumps, there were also dismissals as a result of the batter chasing the deliveries outside off, yet, one can’t discount the way Indian pacers got the ball to seam and swing both ways under the light.
In a World Cup where new ball bowlers have largely been rendered ineffective due to the leather not affording a helping hand, Indian bowlers seemed to be doing black magic in Mumbai.
The hard runs
You cannot however be the best in the business just on the back of your bowling. India’s batting has been equally impressive in the World Cup with contributions coming from all corners. In Mumbai, where the average first innings in the World Cup had been 390, Men in Blue blasted 357/8 with Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, and Shreyas Iyer scoring in excess of 80 each.
By the look of things India were at least 30-40 runs short of the par score, but in all honestly, conditions weren’t as friendly as the first two games. The odd ball was holding up a bit and that was the major reason all three — Gill, Kohli, and Iyer got out on slower balls.
“I honestly don’t think it was a 400 wicket. We batted well to get 350. Shreyas was the key today. He batted superbly,” was Gill’s verdict on the pitch after the match.
Another secret of India’s enviable campaign has been the collective effort and the leadership of captain Rohit Sharma. Graceful in defeats and humble in victories, Rohit has never let the results get into the heads of his boys. It wasn’t the case in the past, on Thursday and hopefully wouldn’t be going forward.
For the skipper, it’s one target achieved and two more to aim for.
“I’m very happy knowing we have qualified for the semifinals, this was the first goal. But how we approached the seven games has been quite clinical, and a lot of individuals have put in the efforts, put their hands up and stood up. It was a good challenge for us to bat and put runs on the board,” Rohit said after India qualified for the semis.
Two more games to go for India in the round-robin followed by the semi-finals. Cricket is a funny game and what happens tomorrow is as good as anybody’s guess, but rarely has India been so ruthless and clinical in ICC tournaments, and based on the evidence that we have in front of us, even the bravest wouldn’t bet against the Men in Blue.