England Cricket Captain Eoin Morgan praised his side’s “outstanding” display as the hosts kept their hopes of a World Cup semi-final place on track with an impressive 31-run victory over India at Edgbaston, Birmingham, on Sunday (June 30).
England would’ve faced a huge uphill task to qualify as one of the best four teams had they lost, but they salvaged their best form to inflict a first defeat of the tournament on India, who had the majority of the support inside Edgbaston.
Jonny Bairstow smashed a belligerent 111, Jason Roy returned from a hamstring injury to make 66 and Ben Stokes (79) provided the late burst in England’s commanding 337-7 after electing to bat.
Rohit Sharma smashed his third hundred of the tournament and Virat Kohli his fifth successive half-century but India did not get another significant partnership and finished on 306-5.
England leapfrogs Pakistan to fourth place with 10 points from eight games, while India remains second on 11 from seven matches.
Victory over New Zealand on Wednesday (July 3) in their final game at Chester-le-Street will guarantee England a place in the semi-finals, while India will confirm their place when they return to Edgbaston on Tuesday to face neighbors Bangladesh.
