World Cup 2023: Bharat Pacers Demolish Sri Lanka

Yesterday’s match between Bharat and Sri Lanka was perhaps the most dominating feat of Rohit Sharma and Co. in the World Cup 2023. Facing the in-form team India on Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, Sri Lanka won the toss and surprised everyone by choosing to bowl first, given that the ground is a batsman’s paradise. Bharat took full advantage of this decision and unleashed a massive batting attack on Sri Lankan bowlers. Despite skipper Rohit Sharma’s early dismissal, Shubhman Gill and Virat Kohli pulled no punches as they got the scoreboard ticking.

However, both Gill and Kohli missed their centuries by getting 92 and 88, respectively, both from Dilshan Madhushanka. Shreyas Iyer entered the field after their dismissals with a determination to make full use of this opportunity. Despite the failures of his partners KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav, Iyer got set and began playing bold shots. He was eventually joined by Ravindra Jadeja, who also scored a handy knock. While Iyer got out on 82, Jadeja finished at 35, giving Sri Lanka a mammoth target of 358 in this important World Cup 2023 match.

Little did the Wankhede crowd know that the real action was yet to come. Jasprit Bumhrah began his magic on the very first ball of the innings by catching Pathum Nissanka lbw in a golden duck. Mohammad Siraj soon got in on the act and dismissed Dimuth Karunaratne on his very first ball as well, followed soon by trapping Sadeera Samarawickrama in two more ducks. A nervous Sri Lanka was backed into a corner, and Siraj made use of their fear and bowled their skipper, Kusal Mendis, after he barely got a run. Their team was four wickets down with just three runs on the board. But the real pace force came from Mohammad Shami.

Mohammad Shami, who has been in the finest touch in this tournament, tore through the middle order, including the seasoned Angelo Mathews. While the lower order gave a final resistance, Shami diminished Sri Lanka’s chances of even reaching 50 runs. However, the tail somehow pushed through the fifty-run mark before Jadeja took the final wicket and finished Sri Lanka’s innings on just 55 runs. Team Bharat thus recorded the biggest win not only in World Cup 2023 but in the entire history of this esteemed tournament.

Image source: AP