India’s World Cup campaign will face a stern test on Sunday as they face tournament favourites and hosts England. After surviving a last-over scare against Afghanistan, the Virat Kohli-led side were back to their best, beating West Indies by 125 runs on Thursday. England, on the other hand, play a knockout at Edgbaston as their performance in their last two matches have made many fear their ouster. Further, a resurgent Pakistan is looming on the horizon, closing in on the fourth spot. England’s remaining two matches in the group stages are against India and New Zealand. They’ll have to win at least one of the two to ensure that they qualify for the semi-finals. There’s no such pressure on India as they remain unbeaten and are in stupendous form. However, previous results will not have much bearing when both sides square off in Birmingham on Sunday. If at all they do, England could take heart from their 2-1 ODI series triumph against India during India’s tour of England last year. Considering both India and England were serious contenders for the title, going into the tournament, there will be some serious battles between players from both sides which make this match, worth the wait. Rohit Sharma vs Jofra Archer India’s hitman, Rohit Sharma, while having played a couple of top knocks against South Africa and Pakistan, hasn’t hit home in India’s previous two matches against Afghanistan and West Indies. The match against England would present an opportunity for Sharma to find form against one of the better bowling attacks. However, England’s Jofra Archer is bound to gag him for room as he’s done so against every team this world cup, putting the new ball to good use. Archer has picked 16 wickets in the tournament so far and stays on course to gather more to help his side salvage their bid for their first world cup. Virat Kohli vs Ben Stokes [caption id=“attachment_6903961” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Ben Stokes vs Virat Kohli will be one of the most anticipated contests to watch on Sunday. Agencies[/caption] Virat Kohli’s world cup so far - he hasn’t scored a century in five matches - can be considered tame by his standards, lofty by others’ for he has scored four consecutive half-centuries for his side, rescuing them from another middle order poor show against Afghanistan before steadying the ship against West Indies to guide his team to a decent first innings total. He’ll be pitted against the England all-rounder Ben Stokes who’s shone equally for his team with both bat and ball, especially in their previous two matches, though failing to secure a victory for his side. Of all the bowlers in the England bowling line-up, Stokes, along with Chris Woakes, has dismissed Kohli the most, three times in 13 matches. However, the fact that he’s averaging 72.33 against the Indian captain suggests who’s on top. Mohammed Shami vs England batting Shami’s spectacular return to form and fitness with four-wicket hauls against Afghanistan and West Indies have pushed him ahead of Bhuvneshwar Kumar as the one to be tasked with the new ball alongside Jasprit Bumrah. There’s little that’s going wrong for Shami who’s bowling at an express pace, landing well inside the crease with a fluid run-up and no niggles to indicate an injury flare-up. India would be smart to try and capitalise on his ability to make the new ball seam and rush the batsman when it’s doing so. Against England, Shami averages just under 30 with an economy rate of just 4.79, deeming him an asset in the batting-friendly conditions. Jasprit Bumrah vs Jos Buttler [caption id=“attachment_6904011” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]
Jos Buttler owns the skills to take the game away from the opposition on his day. Bumrah’s job will be to make sure it’s not Buttler’s day on Sunday. Reuters[/caption] Bumrah has been Kohli’s chosen asset amongst the death-bowling options at hand with his yorkers working well to put a plug on runs. Jos Buttler has been the known aggressor in the England line-up, capping off his team’s batting effort with a flourish down the order. However, while Bumrah has been on the top of his game, Buttler has failed to accumulate runs as his team’s fortunes have dipped in this World Cup. It will be interesting to see who figures on top in this battle as both try to push their side past the line. Kuldeep Yadav vs Joe Root Batting at No 3, Joe Root has struck two centuries and two fifties in his side’s see-saw campaign in this tournament. For many years, spin-bowling was perceived to be Root’s weakness. That may change now as Root who has a technique suited to Test cricket, has applied himself admirably to the limited-overs format, playing the aggressor when required and steadying the ship when needed. However, his record against India suggests that the fallibility to spin-bowling could be exploited. Ravindra Jadeja has dismissed Root the most number of times — three times in 13 matches with an average of 23 — while Kuldeep Yadav has dismissed him once in three matches. However, with Jadeja’s inclusion unlikely considering that the spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav have been performing well, the chinaman remains the best bet to dismiss Joe Root. For all the latest news, opinions and analysis from ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, click here
As India face England, we look at some key battles between players of the two teams which can spice up the contest to be played on Sunday
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