India’s numbers three and four – Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer – amassed 131 runs among them at Cardiff. Yet, India finished with just 233 runs and didn’t even bat out. In fact, the visitors were all out with 36 deliveries to spare. At the bare minimum, India left out 32 runs in the middle, considering they were scoring at 5.3 runs per over against England.
Considering the start Shubman Gill, Kohli and Shreyas got off to, you’d assume India would’ve finished with at least 300. But they fell quite far off. Granted, Rohit Sharma was scratchy, and Ishan Kishan returned after just 8 balls, but India should’ve managed to bat out at least.
Virat Kohli’s untimely dismissal
India was 178/3 in 31.3 overs. From there on, they managed to score just 55 runs in 12.3 overs and lost 7 wickets in the process. The surface wasn’t exactly threatening. It wasn’t seaming or spinning. The collapse took everyone by surprise, considering it was Kohli losing the plot.
Well-set on 65, the former India skipper went after Jofra Archer. The issue wasn’t just that he wanted to attack the express pacer but rather the fact that he’d survived on the previous ball. He’d under-edged the ball to Jos Buttler while going for a pull, but it just fell short.
On the very next ball, he top-edged the ball to third man. It was a bit uncharacteristic from Kohli, considering how well he assesses the situation and decides to target specific bowlers. From there on, India was on a slide.
Lower-order disappoints
Washington Sundar was struggling physically, and a short ball got the better of him since he wasn’t moving well enough. Axar Patel too was outdone by the short ball. On the next ball, Shivam Dube hit a full ball back to Archer. India lost 4 wickets for 15 runs and virtually got behind in the match there. Gurnoor Brar managed to aid Shreyas, but he played an aerial shot that wasn’t needed.
Jasprit Bumrah was perhaps the best batter during the death over, as he scored 20 off 13 and remained unbeaten. Gus Atkinson got the better of Shreyas and Prasidh Krishna in the 44th over, and the innings was done. Shreyas could’ve guided the team past 250 with ease, but his partners didn’t do him justice. Batting alongside tailenders wasn’t going to be easy, and that’s exactly what happened.
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