Wrecker in chief: The Sri Lankan batters found
Shami too hot to handle and fell like nine pins.
| Photo Credit: EMMANUAL YOGINI

Like biting into a bun-maska dunked in Irani tea in those old Parsi restaurants in this teeming metropolis, India revealed a similar ease as it tucked into a hapless Sri Lanka here on Thursday.

The Men in Blue’s seventh triumph in this World Cup was mounted upon muscular batting and relentless fast bowling and the fans at the Wankhede Stadium relished every second of a lop-sided contest that sealed the host’s semifinal berth.

Huge margin

Having posted 357 for eight, Rohit Sharma’s men bundled out Sri Lanka for 55 in 19.4 overs and won by 302 runs. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj dismissed Pathum Nissanka and Dimuth Karunaratne respectively when the batters were yet to open their accounts. If the openers were trapped right in front with ruffled pads, Sadeera Samarawickrama edged Siraj and skipper Kusal Mendis found the Hyderabadi dismantling his citadel.

No respite

With four batters in the hut and just three on the board, there was no respite as Mohammed Shami bustled in. He missed a hat-trick but inflicted enough damage as Sri Lanka hobbled at 14 for six in 10 overs, and once Shami (five for 18) castled Angelo Mathews, the visitors were down for the count.

In the afternoon while a sea of blue slithered in from Marine Drive and Churchgate station, Mendis won the toss and elected to field. His counterpart Rohit flicked the first ball for four but an unfazed left-arm speedster Dilshan Madushanka thudded the next ball into the stumps while the opener played inside the line.

The initial worries were allayed by Virat Kohli. He redirected Madushanka towards fine-leg and Shubman Gill pulled the seamer as a partnership began to take shape. There were some close shaves too as Charith Asalanka dropped Gill on eight and Dushmantha Chameera failed to latch onto a caught and bowled chance off Kohli when the latter was on 10. They were difficult catches but matches turn on such slender threads.

Peach of a shot

Soon Kohli essayed his drives but the peach was a straight-driven four off Kasun Rajitha. Gill, the stylish apprentice to the master at the other end, cut and flicked. He switched to turbo-mode, hoisting sixes off Chameera and Dushan Hemantha. However, the 189-run second-wicket partnership concluded when Gill (92, 92b, 11×4, 2×6) lobbed Madushanka into the gloves of Mendis.

Just like Gill, Kohli (88, 94b, 11×4) too fell against the run of play, popping up a catch off Madushanka. The much-anticipated record-equalling 49th ODI ton proved elusive while the original maestro Sachin Tendulkar watched from the stands. The next duo of Shreyas Iyer and K.L. Rahul scored briskly with the former hoisting sixes for fun. But another soft dismissal emanated when Rahul picked the fielder at short-cover.

Suryakumar Yadav too did not last long but Shreyas cruised. A pulled six off Madushanka (five for 80), followed by one straight down the ground showed the Mumbaikar in all his glory before he (82, 56b, 3×4, 6×6) holed out as another imminent century became a mirage. India by then had enough to leave the visitors deflated.

Mohammed Siraj celebrates the wicket of Sri Lanka’s Dimuth Karunaratne during their match in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on November 2.
| Photo Credit: ANI

India became the first team to secure a semifinal spot at the Cricket World Cup after Mohammed Siraj bowled a stellar opening spell to help the hosts dismantle Sri Lanka for a 302-run win on November 2.

Siraj took three wickets for nought in the first seven balls as Sri Lanka lost its first four wickets for just three runs within 19 deliveries.

Mohammed Shami then took four wickets in three overs in his opening spell, as Sri Lanka was bowled out for 55 runs in 19.4 overs. That was after Shubman Gill’s 92 and a quick-fire 82 off 56 balls from Shreyas Iyer helped India reach 357-8. It was the second biggest margin of victory in World Cup history.

Shami finished with 5-18 in five overs, his second five-wicket haul in this tournament. Siraj finished with 3-16 in seven overs.

Virat Kohli also scored 88 runs, and he and Gill put on 189 for India’s second wicket. It was the highest team score without an individual hundred in a World Cup.

India rose atop the points’ table with a perfect record after seven games and is the only unbeaten side in the tournament. It will play its semifinal at the same venue on Nov. 15, unless it meets archrival Pakistan in the last four — in which case the game would be played in Kolkata on Nov. 16.

With a fifth defeat in seven games, Sri Lanka still has a mathematical chance of reaching the semifinals by winning its remaining two games, but will also need other results going its way.

Siraj’s stunning opening spell began with Jasprit Bumrah sending back opener Pathum Nissanka for a first-ball duck, out lbw. He then trapped Dimuth Karunaratne lbw for a golden duck, Sadeera Samarawickrama was caught at slip for a four-ball duck, while Kusal Mendis was bowled for one run.

The scorecard read an astonishing 3-4 after 3.1 overs — the joint lowest total for the top four batsmen in ODIs, matching Pakistan’s one run against West Indies in 2015.

Sri Lanka’s problems weren’t over yet, as India deployed Shami at the other end and he picked up three wickets in his first nine deliveries.

Charith Asalanka was out for one, while Dushan Hemantha and Dushmantha Chameera were caught behind without troubling the scorers.

Only Angelo Mathews managed more than a run amongst the first eight batsmen, and then reached double digits, scoring 12 off 25 balls.

The 1996 champions were down to 14 runs for six wickets in 9.4 overs. It became 22-7 in 11.3 overs, and Shami then bowled Mathews to make it 29-8 in 13.1 overs. Five Sri Lankan batsmen were out for a duck, and only three managed to reach double digits.

Shami picked up his fifth wicket as Kasun Rajitha was caught at slip, making him India’s leading bowler in World Cups with 45 wickets. He went past Javagal Srinath and Zaheer Khan, both with 44 wickets.

Put into bat, India had made a poor start as Dilshan Madushanka stunned the Wankhede into silence by bowling Rohit Sharma for four off the second ball of the Indian innings.

India could have been in further trouble as both Gill and Kohli were dropped across three deliveries. But the duo didn’t give a sniff to the Sri Lanka bowlers after that as Kohli got to a run-a-ball 50, with Gill scoring 50 off 55 balls. Their 100-run partnership came off 98 balls.

Kohli set the pace initially but slowed down as he approached a record hundred. At the other end, Gill increased his pace and hit some choice boundaries to regale the weekday crowd.

The young opener was out when he tried to ramp a short delivery to the boundary and was caught behind in the 30th over.

Madushanka got the breakthrough and two overs later sent back Kohli as well — a slower delivery inducing the batsman to a false shot — out caught at short cover.

Gill had hit 11 fours and two sixes, while Kohli hit 11 fours. It brought Iyer and Lokesh Rahul to the crease and they put on 60 off 47 balls for the fourth wicket.

India lost its way a bit in the middle overs as Rahul was out caught for 21, while Suryakumar Yadav was out for 12. He was Madushanka’s fifth wicket as the pacer finished with 5-80, the second most expensive five-wicket haul in ODIs.

Iyer, though, held one end together by bringing up 50 off 36 balls. He put on 57 off 36 balls with Ravindra Jadeja, who scored 35 off 24 balls.

Overall, Iyer hit three fours and six sixes to help India cross 350, but missed the chance to score a World Cup hundred on his home ground.

India’s Shubman Gill during a practice session at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium.
| Photo Credit: DEEPAK KR

“It takes one day,” is the theme of the current World Cup. Across venues, these words leap from ICC banners. Perhaps it is the unspoken motto within the teams as fortunes get altered and a new dawn is embraced. True to that spirit, Afghanistan and the Netherlands ambushed England and South Africa respectively because all it takes is just one day.

However, if one team has retained its rich vein of form so far in this championship, it has to be India. With three wins on the trot, the Men in Blue have been on an upward climb even if the peak of lifting the World Cup remains an evolving dream. A familiar rival awaits India in the match at the MCA Stadium here on Thursday. Bangladesh, a neighbour with a long border and a shared love for Bengali and riverine fishes like the hilsa, has hurt India in the past.

The two distinct banana peels for India were the matches in the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies and the 2012 Asia Cup in Dhaka. The first loss saw India crashing out of the premier tournament and the then distraught skipper Rahul Dravid is now the coach while the second defeat ruined Sachin Tendulkar’s special night after he had registered his 100th international hundred. Recently, Bangladesh overcame India with a six-run win in the Asia Cup joust in Colombo on Sept. 15.

Yet, India would fancy its chances while being guarded. Rohit Sharma’s men have ticked most boxes with the batting and bowling arms being in sync. Runs posted, wickets claimed and catches taken, cricket’s elementary nuances have all been seemingly mastered by the host even if these are early days for a long-winding tournament. While the playing eleven seems set, it remains to be seen if Mohammed Shami or R. Ashwin get a toe-in, a prospect that bowling coach Paras Mhambrey did not commit upon in the pre-game media interaction.

On match-eve, a warm sun beat down on the grass and India would hope that its strategies remain efficient and the game would be as easy as dunking this city’s favourite Shrewsbury cookies into a cup of tea. Obviously, Bangladesh will have other plans.

The old duo of skipper Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim may be the fulcrum but there are fitness concerns around the former, which he partially allayed with a stint in the nets on Tuesday. However, a final call on the Bangladeshi skipper’s availability will be taken on Thursday morning.

Having lost two out of three tussles in this World Cup, the visitors have to lift their game. Bangladesh does know a trick or two about cutting down the Big Brother to size, starting from 2007. India, though, would prefer to stay imposing, like the rolling hills around the venue.

The teams (from):

India: Rohit Sharma (Capt.), K.L. Rahul (wk), Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur and Kuldeep Yadav.

Bangladesh: Shakib Al Hasan (Capt.), Najmul Hossain, Litton Das, Towhid Hridoy, Tanzid Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mahmudullah, Mahedi Hasan, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam, Nasum Ahmed and Tanzim Hasan Sakib.

Umpires: Adrian Holdstock and Richard Kettleborough; Third umpire: Kumar Dharmasena; Match referee: Andrew Pycroft.

Match starts at 2 p.m.

Strike force: Siraj and Bumrah have combined well to deal timely blows. 
| Photo Credit: DEEPAK KR

Traversing India’s geographical diversity is inevitable for the Men in Blue while they chase World Cup glory. Be it the humid Coromandel Coast, northern hinterland, Gujarat’s dusty plains or now the leap across the Western Ghats just in time for Thursday’s clash against Bangladesh here at the MCA Stadium close to the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, Rohit Sharma’s men have been busy travellers.

In the weeks ahead more air miles await as the host is bound to leave footprints far and wide, be it the Himalayas, Gangetic Plains, the coasts (west and east) and the Deccan Plateau. Hopefully, the final destination will be Ahmedabad, the venue for the summit clash on November 19. But it is a milestone that is a month away and the Indian team would rather ‘focus on the process’.

Three emphatic wins over Australia, Afghanistan and Pakistan has left India in a good space. The margin of triumphs, all secured while chasing — by six wickets, eight wickets and seven wickets — reveal a top and middle-order that have delivered despite the ghastly two for three in that initial phase against the Aussies.

The return of Shubman Gill augurs well while the old guard of skipper Rohit and his predecessor Virat Kohli have clicked. K.L. Rahul and Shreyas Iyer too have been among the runs.

Tougher battles on the road ahead seem unavoidable but the batting is in good nick and the bowlers, led by Jasprit Bumrah, have delivered. Mohammed Siraj, after a middling outing against Afghanistan, belatedly found his rhythm against Pakistan. As a bowling unit, India has controlled the middle overs, its batting core has sparkled and the fielding has been adequate and efficient, and all these constitute a recipe for success.

But there could be some vulnerable spots. India’s batting has not been fully tested. Hardik Pandya got one hit, while the rest, from Ravindra Jadeja to the tail, are yet to stride towards the batting crease. In cricketing utopia, especially in ODIs, it is best if just the main batters do the job.

However, reality could spring a nasty surprise as it did during the 2019 World Cup semifinal against New Zealand at Manchester. Rohit, Rahul and Virat scored a solitary run each and despite the resistance lower down the order from Hardik, M.S. Dhoni and Jadeja, India lost the game by 19 runs.

In the current edition, India does have a weak tail, a reality that the management is attempting to mask by fielding three all-rounders in the eleven: Hardik, Jadeja and Shardul Thakur. The odd inquisition may happen but the squad exudes a quiet confidence, evident in the scintillating performance on the field and from the happy behind-the-scenes videos that the management posts on social media.

Living in the present, quelling one opponent at a time and being ready if and when a match crisis pops up remain the key, besides staying fit, both physically and mentally. The coming days, be it in Pune or in Dharamshala, should offer further hints about India’s progress into the last four.

An old cricketing stereotype about India entirely revolved around wristy batters and wily spinners. The willow-wielders with their wide bouquet of aesthetic shots were expected to defy geometry on the turf. The practitioners of the slow-art were supposed to spin a web, luring perplexed batters to their doom. This was essentially about poetry at one end while a lullaby held the other point of the spectrum.

How about some rock-and-roll that rested on fast bowlers? Well at one point, gentle coughs ensued, throats were cleared and a whisper traipsed into waiting ears: “Oh they are supposed to just take the shine off the ball before the Bedis, Prasannas, Chandrasekhars and Venkataraghavans spun their wares.” Indian speed merchants were deemed non-existent or at best were relegated to the realm of being an afterthought.

But do take a leap backwards in time, revisit India’s first ever Test against England at Lord’s in 1932. The visitors may have lost that game but its seam bowlers, specifically Mohammad Nissar and Amar Singh, were deemed potent, incisive and truly living up to that moniker ‘fast’.

The 1947 Partition may have affected the overall fast bowling resources available to India but the nation always found key men who could run in hard and bowl at a zesty pace, even if the speeds were not the kinds that the once mighty West Indians clocked.

Flagbearer

Over the decades, many pacers emerged with Kapil Dev being the initial flagbearer since his debut during the Pakistan tour in 1978. Standing in the slips, Sunil Gavaskar smiled as the ‘Haryana Express’ clattered a few helmets with his bouncers. Later, Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma extended the tradition and now this is the era of Jasprit Bumrah.

If the earlier mentioned pacers had a classical air in their approach to the craft or in the run-up to the crease, Bumrah is one of a kind. His pre-delivery routine of a walk, followed by winnowing steps almost seems as if he is yet to decide whether to run or just stay gentle. But in those seconds, suddenly the limbs twitch, the legs blur and he arches backwards before unleashing a thunderbolt.

As bowling actions go, this may not seem bio-mechanically sound. Generating pace largely from the shoulders while using the back muscles as a catapult, can affect the body, especially the upper half. This isn’t a Michael Holding emerging from a run-up that gathers consistent speed, this is like a car with a sluggish battery on a winter morning but one which without any warning knocks down the garage door and rushes past. But it has suited Bumrah and it is a credit to all his coaches that they have not tried to alter the basic template of his bowling action.

The nurturing of Bumrah is like how Sri Lanka looked after Lasith Malinga, famous for his slingy action. And while Sri Lanka got its rewards, India is reaping the benefits too as Bumrah, as unorthodox as they come, has carved a space in the bowling pantheon.

Having made his India-debut in 2016, Bumrah has climbed the rungs, scattering stumps, drawing edges and doing the ‘eagle has flown’ post-wicket celebration. He also found an ally in Mohammad Shami, proving that old adage about fast bowlers hunting in pairs, while the other Mohammad (Siraj) too has been a good foil.

It is never easy being a top athlete. With seasons merging into each other, bodies tire, limbs creak and the mind yearns for solace. Bumrah is no exception and since he is a dispenser of the fast and furious skill-set, injuries were inevitable.

A corrective surgery on his back was deemed essential and it ruled him out of India’s squad for last year’s ICC T20 World Cup in Australia.

Even while others stepped up, his boots were too big to fill. Bumrah’s absence was felt, just like how Rishabh Pant is being missed now. The lanky seamer from Gujarat has an x-factor that India prefers unleashing upon overawed set of rival batters. The selectors waited, so did the team management. Bumrah did his rehabilitation well and when he got back, the spearhead revealed that he had lost none of his menace. His is not a smouldering approach, often he lets out a grin, and as fast bowling clubs go, this member is a smiling assassin.

Right from the time he made a comeback in a T20I game against Ireland at Dublin on August 18, Bumrah hit the straps immediately. Wickets were prised out and there was no holding back in his approach, which is difficult as muscle memory needs to be groomed afresh. Ask any biker after a fall and a resultant fracture, there is always a hesitation to stretch that particular arm or leg that got bruised as the mind gets defensive. It is the same with top-flight sportspersons but they always find a way to get back, and in the case of Bumrah he has been doubly quick in reverting to his regular path.

In his element

Be it the subsequent Asia Cup in Sri Lanka or the ODIs against Australia, Bumrah has been in his element. It is a welcome trait that has found a bigger stage in the current World Cup, a truth that opponents like Australia, Afghanistan and Pakistan would testify. His yields include two for 35, four for 39 and two for 19. Striking with the new ball, as he did against Australia and Afghanistan, or causing havoc in his second spell, which found expression against a befuddled Pakistan, seemed so natural from him. Great cricketers impose their will on the game and Bumrah has that special ability.

The deliveries he uncorked to disturb Mohammad Rizwan and Shadab Khan’s stumps were from the top-drawer. One of the finest deliveries ever bowled in the history of cricket was the one that Wasim Akram scripted against an unsuspecting Rahul Dravid in the Chennai Test during the 1999 series. There was both venom and just a hint of movement as the ball slithered past Dravid’s wide blade and breached his citadel.

The ones Bumrah sprung in the middle overs against Pakistan had a similar verve. Pace, bounce, seam and swing, cutters and slower balls, are all part of Bumrah’s arsenal. He is indeed a remarkable bowler and at 29, needs to be mindful of his body and ensure that he lasts many cricketing summers.

India’s current World Cup campaign and other battles ahead rest a lot on Bumrah’s lightning strikes. He remains a pure fast bowler and there is a touch of the amateur too as his batting skills much like Courtney Walsh’s, is that of a classic tail-ender, prone to strike hard or combust early, and the returns remain anaemic. Give him a ball though, red or white, and just say ‘play’ and it is then time to rock and roll!