"Best all-round attack, no weaknesses": Michael Atherton hails India after England mauling
Oct 30, 2023
New Delhi [India], October 30 : After India mauled defending champions England on Sunday, riding largely on a sensational effort with the ball led by Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah, former English opener Michael Atherton heaped praise on the hosts for having the "best all-round bowling attack".
The Indian pace duo of Bumrah and Shami led the demolition of England, beating the reigning world champions in both the 50 and 20-over formats by 100 runs at Lucknow on Sunday.
"I think they have the best all-round attack. We saw three pacers doing really well, (Mohammed) Shami and (Jasprit) Bumrah. Then they have got two great spinners (Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja) and a third one sitting on the bench, Ravichandran Ashwin. There are no weaknesses in the bowling line-up and in all conditions, they are tough to score runs against," Atherton, the former England captain, said in a video posted by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
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Asking India to make first use of the pitch after winning the toss on Sunday, England's bowling attack finally came up with the goods, restricting the hosts to 229.
The Indian innings closed at 229/9 in 50 overs. The Indian batters, who had been going great guns going into this match, failed for once. Batting talisman Virat Kohli fell for a nine-ball duck while opener Shubman Gill (9) and middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer (4) were also dismissed for single-digit scores.
However, a typically aggressive but controlled hand from skipper Rohit Sharma, who fell 13 shy of a century (87 off 101 balls with 10 fours and three sixes), KL Rahul (39 in 58 balls, with three fours) and Suryakumar Yadav (49 in 47 balls, with four boundaries and a six) took the hosts to a respectable total on a challenging surface.
David Willey (3/45) was the pick of the bowlers for England while leggie Adil Rashid and leggie Chris Woakes (2/33) were also among the wickets.
Tearaway Mark Wood scalped a solitary wicket.
Chasing 230, England were rocked early, with 'Boom, Boom' sending back opener Dawid Malan and former skipper Joe Root.
With the exception of Liam Livingstone (27), who briefly looked to take the fight to the Indian bowlers, England were never really in the game. Mohammed Shami (4/22) and Jasprit Bumrah (3/32) knocked the stuffing out of the English batting while Kuldeep Yadav (2/24) and Ravindra Jadeja (1/16) also shared the spoils.
Rohit Sharma won the 'Player of the Match' for his gusty knock in his 100th match as captain across formats.
With the win on Monday, India went top of the points table with 12 points.
England dropped to the bottom with just one win and five losses in six matches.
