Shami leads rout of Sri Lanka as India advance unbeaten into semi-finals

Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah razed Sri Lanka for 55 at the Wankhede, sealing India’s seventh successive win of the World Cup and their spot in the semi finals.

India’s fast-bowling trio was so sensational with the new ball that the scores of Sri Lanka’s top five read like a line of binary code: 0,0,1,0,1. When Shami also had Nos. 7 and 8 for ducks with the score on 29, Sri Lanka were in serious danger of folding for the lowest total in ODI cricket. They were eventually dismissed in 19.4 overs as India completed the fourth biggest win in the format and Shami’s 5 for 18 made him India’s highest wicket taker in World Cups.  It was the third time that India had dismissed Sri Lanka for less than 100 in ODIs in 2023, and their second 300-plus run victory against them this year.

The very first ball from Bumrah was a portent for the carnage that was to follow. He went wide of the crease, got a full ball to angle in and then swing away late to thump the back pad. Siraj also struck with his first ball, pinning Dimuth Karunaratne lbw. Four balls later, with a reinforced cordon, Siraj had the in-form Sadeera Samarawickrama caught at third slip.

But it was the dismissal of captain Kusal Mendis that stood out. Coaches often instruct bowlers to hit that bail-trimming length – too short to drive nor short enough to pull or cut. Siraj not only hit that bail-trimming length to beat Mendis’ outside edge, he also broke the bails. At 3 for 4, with just one of those runs off the bat, Sri Lanka’s batting line-up was also broken.

Brief Scores:
India 357/8 in 50 overs (Shubman Gill 92, Virat Kohli 88, Shreyas Iyer 82, K L Rahul 21, Ravindra Jadeja 35*; Dilshan Madushanka 5-80) beat Sri Lanka 55 in 19.4 overs (Kasun Rajitha 14; Mohammed Siraj 3-16, Mohammed Shami 5-18) by 302 runs