The winning rhythm of the Blues

India win seventh match on the trot, become first to qualify for the semis after crushing Sri Lanka by 302 runs

- SANJEEV K SAMYAL

India's batters scored their first 350-plus total of the 2023 World Cup on Thursday. But we aren't going to talk about them because by the time the game against Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium ended, the only thing the capacity crowd could even think about was the bowling. As Mohammed Shami later said, "Not rocket science. Just a matter of rhythm." But it surely wasn't any ordinary rhythm.

After India made 357/8 batting first, Sri Lanka were bowled out for 55. The sheer brilliance of Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah was just too much to take for a Sri Lankan team that was clearly short of experience and class.

Bumrah set the tone by taking a wicket off the very first ball of the innings. He went wide, angled it in and then made it move away from to trap Pathum Nissanka leg before. From that point, the attack was merciless. Siraj made the most of the helpful conditions with a three-wicket burst in seven balls to destroy the top order.

Then Shami stepped up. By this point, the fields were straight out of a Test -- slips, gully, point, close-in fielders. As India moved in for the kill, there was no escape. Another burst of wickets for the pacer saw the visitors being reduced to 29/8 after 13.1 overs; the innings was in danger of getting over inside 15 overs.