Rohit Sharma’s 87 headlines India’s essay on unpredictable Lucknow surface
Rohit Sharma batted on a different pedestal to his peers on a wildly unpredictable Lucknow surface against England as his 101-ball 87 helped India wade past their wobbly start. Suryakumar Yadav then chipped in with a vital 49 that took India to 229 for 8 in 50 overs For the first time in this World Cup, India have had to bat first and suffered multiple early blows courtesy the unevenness of the pitch and how differently it behaved even on successive deliveries. On the hot Sunday afternoon, Rohit began to chance his arms early, like he’s done all through this World Cup. David Willey was the earliest recipient of that carnage as Rohit hit him for two sixes in the 18-run third over. Shubman Gill, who was looking to ease into the innings in his captain’s company was undone by a Chris Woakes delivery that unexpectedly nipped back in to go through his bat-pad gap and rattle the stumps. There were early signs that the ball was stopping on the pitch, as Willey tied Virat Kohli down right at the start of his innings. Kohli played out eight dot balls before deciding to try and break the rut, but his attempt to hit over the infield was futile as his shot went straight to Ben Stokes at mid-off. India were further rattled by Shreyas Iyer’s decision to pull a ball that wasn’t short enough and end up top-edging it to Mark Wood at mid-on. From 40 for 3 in the 12th over, India’s essay was rebuilt by Rohit and KL Rahul, who were batting together in an ODI for the first time since January 2020. Even as the innings progressed, the bounce on this surface was hard to trust but Rohit still scored at a brisk pace, getting to his 54th ODI fifty off 66 balls. The closest England came to dismissing Rohit in the middle overs was when the umpire raised his finger for an LBW appeal, only for the Indian captain to get it overturned on review. In the midst of slow progress, Liam Livingstone started out with a maiden over as he got sharp and quick turn. Rahul however, got the better of the spinner in his second over, sweeping to the vacant backward square leg region and getting a streaky four off the outside edge too. Rohit reverse-lapped him past the short third man in another over where Livingstone conceded a couple of fours. Against the run of play, however, Willey got Rahul to play a risky shot that cost the keeper-batter his wicket. As a partnership between Rohit and Suryakumar Yadav began to grow, Jos Buttler brought back Adil Rashid for a second spell after he went for just 22 runs off six overs in his first. The leggie struck right away to end Rohit’s exceptional innings, that also saw him get to 18,000 international runs, as the latter looked to slog a googly but didn’t get enough behind it to clear the deep midwicket. Livingstone ran in from the deep and completed a sharp catch. Rashid put India at the risk of folding for a sub-200 total when he trapped Ravindra Jadeja leg-before but Suryakumar earned his ODI stripes with a solid 49 off 47 balls. Buttler brought back Mark Wood to take an aim at India’s long tail and the bowler found success immediately with the wicket of Mohammed Shami, that left India in a vulnerable position of 183 for 7 in 42 overs. Suryakumar found himself in familiar territory – batting in the death overs – and unleashed a shot only he could – a monstrous flick off Wood over fine leg for a six. But he fell in the 47th over trying to clear the off-side field with a big shot, giving Willey his third wicket of the game. Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav frustrated England right at the end, with the former even hitting a 149kmph delivery from Wood for a four past mid-on. He and Kuldeep added 21 valuable runs for the ninth wicket. Brief Scores:
India 229/9 in 50 overs (Rohit Sharma 89, Suryakumar Yadav 49, KL Rahul 39; David Willey 3-45, Adil Rashid 2-35 Chris Woakes 2-33) vs England
