As confident hosts asserted their authority over India at Edgbaston, the win also means these two teams could be back at the same venue for a mouth-watering semifinal clash
It is amazing what a difference one player can make; the return of Jason Roy at the top of the order seemed to rejuvenate England and they again performed like a World Cup contender.
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Roy, in partnership with Jonny Bairstow — whose spat with the English public had the desired effect — set the team off at a fast pace on a day when nothing less than victory would do.
The England opening pair had some luck early as inside edges missed the stumps and outside edges avoided the fielders but the advent of wrist- spin eased the pressure and England were on their way to a big total.
On the evidence of this game, India may need to replace one of the wrist spinners with Bhuvneshwar Kumar to give Kohli more control in the middle overs and stiffen the death bowling. Building on the strong foundation provided by Bairstow and Roy, Ben Stokes capitalised in the late overs with a combination of good batting and daring shot-making.
Bumrah's miserly spell
Despite Jasprit Bumrah's miserly bowling at the end, Mohammed Shami leaked runs after an earlier brilliant spell. In addition to the success of pace over spin in the tournament, the other prevailing theme has been the rarity of successful chases when the target exceeds 300. Stiff chases have been a difficult exercise on pitches that offer a little assistance and wicket-taking bowlers are a must when bowling first if you want to prevail.
India's wrist-spinners Kuldeep Yadav (left) and Yuzvendra Chahal. PIC/AFP
India's chase was taken up by the usual pair, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who both enjoyed a bit of good fortune after the injured KL Rahul was out early. Their century partnership came at a reasonable run rate but without the big hitting that England had employed, especially when the spinners were operating.
It was the recently reinstalled Liam Plunkett who broke the partnership with the vital wicket of Kohli. His ability to ambush batsmen in the middle overs saw England's selectors prefer him to Moeen ali and this could be the hint their indian counterparts need to replace a spinner with Bhuvneshwar.
Not even the ebullient pairing of Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant could clear the boundary to propel India's chase to the levels required for victory. Then when MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav were becalmed in the early stages of their partnership, India's unbeaten run was over.
A different England team
This was a different England; gone was the nervous error prone fielding that derailed the performance against australia and in its place was a confident team looking to assert their authority over the opposition. if they can repeat that performance against New Zealand their semi- final place is assured.
If England were to prevail in that game it would leave New Zealand prey to Pakistan, although a superior net run rate might be just enough to get the Kiwis a final four berth.
The likelihood is that australia will finish on top which could well mean a replay of india and England in a semi- final at the same venue, Edgbaston. That will be a mouth watering prospect with both teams having had the opportunity to assess each other in a match where England re- charged their tournament hopes.
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