Bairstow hundred as England halts India's unbeaten run to continue World Cup revival
Rohit's century goes in vain as England beat India by 31 runs
Birmingham, Jun 30: England survived to live for another day as they outbatted India for a 31-run win in a high-scoring World Cup encounter, keeping their semi-final hopes alive here Sunday.
Opener Jonny Bairstow's hundred (111 off 109 balls) set the platform and a cavalier 54-ball 79 by all-rounder Ben Stokes took England to an imposing 337 for 7 in 50 overs after batting first, neutralising the spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav with some heavy duty hitting.
The total proved to be good enough as Rohit Sharma's (102) 25th ODI hundred and skipper Virat Kohli's (66) fifth consecutive half-century could only take India to 306 for 5 as England captain Eoin Morgan rotated his bowlers effectively at the death.
England, now on 10 points, will need to beat New Zealand in their last game to qualify for the semifinals while India (11 points from 7 games) will need to win at least one of their remaining two games against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka -- to seal the last four spot.
India's defeat on Sunday will also make Pakistan's (9 points from 8 matches) chances of qualifying for the semifinals a tad difficult.
Chris Woakes (2/58 in 10 overs) and Liam Plunkett (3/55 in 10 overs) were steady and impressive but it was Jofra Archer's (0/45 in 10 overs) extra pace that the Indian middle-order, including the hard-hitting Hardik Pandya (45 off 33 balls), found difficult to negotiate.
And when Hardik found it difficult, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (42 not out off 31 balls) with his waning power-hitting abilities could not have done better against Archer even though he gave a better account of himself compared to the previous games.
Just as has been the case during this World Cup, Dhoni again got booed by the capacity crowd.
The Barbados born speedster, who bowled fast and full with occasional slower deliveries, had 33 dot balls to his credit.
The difference between the two sides was the number of sixes that England batsmen hit during their innings. Compared to 13 sixes by England, India managed a single six in their entire 50 overs.
KL Rahul (0) did not have the measure of Woakes as he was out for a nine-ball duck. bringing Kohli and Rohit together. They were cautious till the 15th over before opening up against Adil Rashid and Ben Stokes, hitting the duo for a flurry of boundaries.
While Kohli reached his fifth successive half-century of the tournament, it was Rohit who dominated the bowling after reaching his own half-ton.
Their 138-run stand ended when Kohli's slash drive off Plunkett was pouched by substitute fielder James Vince at point.
Rohit and young Rishabh Pant (32 off 29 balls) added 52 off 48 balls and the Indian vice-captain also reached his 25th ODI hundred in the process. However, his innings ended as Woakes got him first ball off his second spell, caught by Jos Buttler.
Pant tried his short-arm pull-shot off Plunkett and was brilliantly caught by a diving Woakes in the deep as Dhoni joined Pandya.
Opting to bat, Bairstow (11 off 109 balls), along with fit-again Jason Roy (66 off 57 balls), added 160 for the first wicket on a track where Kuldeep Yadav (1/72 in 10 overs) and Yuzvendra Chahal (0/88 in 10 overs) had a forgettable day.
Stokes (79) then used the platform to give the total a menacing look in a do-or-die game for the hosts.
Mohammed Shami (5 for 69) got his maiden five-wicket haul but even he lost his bearings in the last two overs.
Jasprit Bumrah (1/44 in 10 overs) was amazing as ever, being the only bowler to finish with a sub-5 economy rate and the only maiden of the innings.
Bairstow, who stoked a controversy by taking an indirect dig at former England skippers Michael Vaughan and Kevin Pietersen for their criticism, channelized his anger in a positive manner, scoring his eighth ODI hundred.
Chahal and Kuldeep were hit for 12 fours and as many as nine sixes as they hardly got any purchase from the Edgbaston track. Incidentally, Sunday's pitch was not the one which was used during Pakistan's game against New Zealand where Kane Williamson's part-time off-breaks turned right angles.
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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
