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Undefeated Team India cross swords against a bruised England side in the ODI World Cup 2023 in Lucknow on Sunday, October 29. Rohit Sharma’s men entered the tournament as the favourites. They have done no harm to their reputation thus far as they have won all their five matches so far in the showpiece event.
Captain Rohit Sharma has led from the front and Virat Kohli has displayed impeccable form. The Delhi batter has scored 354 runs in five games at a mind-boggling average of 118. He is the leading run-getter for the ‘Men in Blue’ so far in the tournament.
Jasprit Bumrah, on the other hand, is the leading wicket-taker for India with 11 wickets from five games. Kuldeep Yadav has also done well, scalping eight wickets in five matches. Mohammed Shami and Suryakumar Yadav replaced Shardul Thakur and the injured Hardik Pandya in the previous game against New Zealand. While Suryakumar couldn’t make much of an impact, Shami showed his class by bagging a five-for. Hardik is yet to recover and it seems that India could stick to the same playing XI that played against The Kiwis.
Jos Buttler has a lot of things to ponder. The opening pair of Jonny Bairstow and Dawid Malan hasn’t clicked. The middle order has also not been able to play to its potential and no bowler has performed on a consistent basis. Malan scored a century in the game against Bangladesh but has not been able to convert starts on either side of that contest. Joe Root has also been way off his lofty standards after starting the tournament with back-to-back fifties. Adil Rashid will have to play a crucial role in the middle overs as he could get some help from the Lucknow pitch. However, Chris Woakes and David Willey will have to make the new ball count against a strong batting side like India.
After the humiliating loss against Sri Lanka in the last game, England’s chances of reaching the semi-finals hangs by a thread. They will have to bring their A-game to challenge the confident-looking Indian side.