Edgbaston [UK]: After handing India their first defeat in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup by 31 runs on Sunday, England skipper Eoin Morgan said he is delighted with this result as it has come against a quality side.
“Yeah, delighted with this win. The manner in which we played today with the bat was outstanding. This performance has come at a good time and against a good team,” Morgan told reporters at the post-match conference.
Jonny Bairstow played a wonderful inning of 111 runs and he silenced his critics with the bat. The batsman made headlines earlier this week with his statement that fans in the country wanted England to fail. Morgan said that Bairstow can get riled up easily and lauded his innings.
Morgan even lauded Liam Plunkett on his performance with the ball. Plunkett was added to the team’s playing XI in place of Adil Rashid against India. Plunkett went on to take three wickets.
“Jonny does tend to get fired up. The way he played was outstanding, it was definitely a match-winning inning. I do not think we have necessarily missed anyone. It was good to see Plunkett deliver a performance like this and I am pleased for him,” Morgan said.
England batsman went after Indian spinners and they did not let any spinner settle at the crease. Morgan said that this proved to be a game-changing moment in the match. Morgan praised Ben Stokes for innings against India. Stokes scored 79 for England.
“The period between 10-20 overs in our innings was the difference in the match in my opinion. Jonny and Jason played really well through that period, they got us off to a good start. Ben’s innings was amazing. He adapted really well and his skills were exceptional towards the end of the innings,” Morgan said.
Jason Roy who got hit on his arm in the match against India was declared fine by Morgan. The skipper said that Roy just has a bruise on his arm and he should be good to go for the team’s upcoming match.
“Jason is good. When he was batting, he got hit on the arm. It’s just a bruise and he should be good for our upcoming matches. Jason and Jonny compliment each other really well,” Morgan said.
In the match between India and England, the latter won the toss and opted to bat first. England went on to post a challenging score of 337 runs for the loss of seven wickets in the allotted fifty overs.
Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow gave England solid base at the top as they stitched together a partnership of 160 runs. Roy was dismissed for 66 whereas Bairstow went on to score a century.
Bairstow was sent back to the pavilion after playing a knock of 111 runs, but Ben Stokes played a 79-run innings to propel England to more than 330 runs.
Chasing 338, India’s opening batsman Rohit Sharma registered his third century in the ongoing tournament. Indian skipper Virat Kohli also registered a half-century, becoming the first skipper to register five consecutive fifties in the World Cup.
But India fell short by 31 runs in the end. This win has enabled England to reach the fourth spot in the tournament standings.
England will next face New Zealand on July 3.
[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]