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India have been the best bowling side of World Cup 2023. In their seven matches so far, they conceded 200-plus in only three matches – against Afghanistan, Bangladesh and New Zealand. They have bowled out the opposition in five of those matches – twice bowling under lights and three times while blowing first. In matches where India have bowled first, it has been a collective effort with fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj chipping in with important wickets but spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav have done the bulk of the damage.
The scenarios change completely under lights. It has been all about pace, swing and seam. Bumrah, Shami and Siraj have bowled out England for 129 and then blew away Sri Lanka for 55.
In short, if the pitch is a bit slow then Jadeja and Kuldeep will choke the opposition and chip away with wickets in the middle overs. If it’s under lights or the pitch has something for the fast bowlers, Bumrah, Shami and Siraj won’t let the top-order breathe.
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Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar said India have become a “ruthless side” and there are high chances that this “onslaught” will continue for the rest of the World Cup.
“India is becoming a ruthless side from this point the onslaught cannot be stopped but my request to Indians is to start celebrating your fast bowlers because everyone was happy and there was a lot of noise on each delivery at the Wankhede Stadium,” Akhtar said in a video posted on X.
Akhtar was mighty pleased with Shami, who registered his best bowling figures (5/18) on Thursday in Mumbai. He has taken 14 wickets in just three appearances in this World Cup. The veteran right-arm pacer also went past Zaheer Khan and Javagal Srinath to become India’s highest wicket-taker in World Cups. Shami now has 45 wickets in just 14 matches – he has the best average (12.29) and best strike rate (15.75) among all bowlers who have taken more than 30 wickets in the history of World Cups.
I am personally happy for Shami he has found his rhythm back he has claimed so many wickets and has got 45 World Cup wickets overall,” Akhtar said.
There were question marks about Siraj’s form before the Sri Lanka match but the right-arm pacer answered the critics in grand style. He struck on his first ball and then went on to pick up three wickets without conceding a run. Siraj finished with figures of 3/15 while Bumrah, who sent back Pathum Nissanka in the first ball of Sri Lanka’s chase, returned 1/8.
“Siraj is running, Bumrah is lethal he is giving them comfort to both of them to bowl freely,” Shoaib said in a video posted on X.
At one point, Sri Lanka’s scorecard read 3 for 4 with Siraj’s figures saying 3/0. Akhtar said it was difficult to differentiate between the runs and the wickets. “Can’t understand where’s the wickets column and where’s the runs column,” he said.
While chasing a target of 358, Sri Lanka succumbed to a total of 55 in just 19.4 overs. This was the third time this year that Sri Lanka were bowled out under 100 in ODIs against India. The Rohit Sharma-led side won the match by 302 runs to become the first team to enter the semi-finals of World Cup 2023.
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