MUMBAI: If anyone still wanted reasons as to why India are the team to beat in this World Cup, Rohit Sharma's side laid them down at an electric Wankhede Stadium against Sri Lanka here on Thursday.
The hosts piled up 357 for 8, thanks to polished knocks from Shubman Gill 92 (92b, 11x4, 2x6) and Virat Kohli 88 (94b, 11x4) (both were dropped on 8 and 10 respectively), and a hurricane 82 (56b, 3x4, 5x6) by Shreyas Iyer, after being put into bat by Sri Lankan skipper Kusal Mendis.
Then, Man-of-the-Match Mohammed Shami (5-1-18-5) and Mohammed Siraj (7-2-16-3), in a seam bowling clinic, blew Sri Lanka away to dismiss them for 55 in 19.4 overs. India ran up victors by 302 runs to post their seventh win on the trot. With 14 points, they are now the first team in the semis.
Getting generous amount of seam on a beautiful cricket wicket that had carry and getting movement in the humid evening air, Siraj trapped Dimuth Karunaratne lbw first ball as the left-hander fell over. He then got Sadeera Samarawickrama to feel at an away-going delivery and Iyer at third slip pouched the offering.
His next wicket, that off Mendis, was dreamy stuff. Getting the ball to angle in from over the wicket, Siraj pitched it on middle, on a length, and got it to straighten. Mendis prodded and missed, and the ball hit the off pole.
Jasprit Bumrah had started the Lankan slide by dismissing Sri Lanka's man in form Pathhum Nissanka lbw through an umpire's call off the first ball of the innings.
1/10:World Cup: Records India shattered in big win against Sri Lanka
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2/10:India in World Cup semis
<p>India beat Sri Lanka by 302 runs to become first team to enter the semi-finals of the ODI World Cup 2023. </p>PTI
3/10:Sri Lanka 55 all out
<p>Chasing a 358-run victory target, Sri Lanka were bundled out for 55 in 19.4 overs at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday. </p>AP
4/10:Virat Kohli
<p>Virat Kohli (88) came level with Kumar Sangakkara at the second spot for scoring most 50 plus scores in ODIs. Sachin Tendulkar (145) heads the list. </p>AFP
5/10:4000 plus runs
<p>Virat Kohli became the second batsman to score 4000 plus runs against Sri Lanka across formats. Sachin Tendulkar heads the list with 5108 runs. </p>PTI
6/10:50 plus scores
<p>Virat Kohli became the second batsman to hit 13 50 plus scores in ODI World Cups. Sachin Tendulkar heads the list with 21 50 plus scores. </p>AFP
7/10:Most runs in a calendar year
<p>Virat Kohli scored 1000 plus ODI runs in a calendar year for the eighth time breaking the record of Sachin Tendulkar who achieved the feat 7 times. </p>AP
8/10:Highest team score sans a ton
<p>India's 357/8 is the highest team score without an individual hundred in all World Cup editions. </p>PTI
9/10:Shreyas Iyer
<p>The 6 sixes hit by Shreyas Iyer is the joint second highest - with Kapil Dev and Rohit Sharma - in the number of sixes for India in a World Cup innings. </p>AFP
10/10:Dilshan Madushanka
<p>Sri Lanka pacer Dilshan Madushanka's 5/80 is the second most expensive 5-wicket haul in ODIs after Adil Rashid's 5/85. </p>PTISri Lanka's innings, that was tottering at 3 for 4, slipped into further chaos when Mohammed Shami got two wickets in two balls - putting Asalanka out of his misery by getting him caught by Ravindra Jadeja at point and getting Dushan Hemantha caught behind first ball.
After the end of 10 overs, Sri Lanka were 14 for 6, the lowest powerplay score in World Cup history. Had this been a boxing match, the referee would have stopped the contest.
Shami though was hungry to throw in more punches. He got one to lift that Dushmantha Chameera gloved and KL Rahul convinced the captain and bowler to go for the referral after the umpire had ruled it as a wide. He then produced a perfect full inswinger that tempted Angelo Mathews to go for the drive and hit the stumps. Sri Lanka were 29 for 8. Only some late order hitting by Maheesh Theekshana and Kasun Rajitha ensured Sri Lanka got past the 50 mark.
Sri Lanka's struggles with the bat though should not mislead us into believing that the Wankhede pitch was a minefield. Though Rohit must have felt it was one when an off-cutter from left-arm-seamer Dilshan Madhushanka, gripped the surface after pitching on middle-stump and uprooted the off-pole.
Kohli and Gill attacked Theekshana, cutting him through point to get India moving. They also milked the leg-spinner Hemantha, who replaced the struggling Dhananjay De Silva, as they competed to get to 50 first.
As India got into a safe zone, Gill started chancing his arm and hit Chameera and Hemantha for sixes to close in on triple figures. Madhushanka, the top-wicket-taker in the tournament, used the slower one well to dismiss both Gill and Kohli within three runs.
Iyer then went into turbo mode, hitting sixes at will and adding useful runs with KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja to ensure that India got a big score, despite a Madhushanka five-for.
The way Siraj and Shami bowled, it proved to be more than enough.
