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India continued their domination in the ongoing ICC Men's ODI World Cup, thrashing Sri Lanka by 302 runs. In the process, they also became the first team to officially qualify for the semi-final having won all seven matches in the tournament so far.
It was a questionable decision from the Sri Lankan skipper to win the toss and put the in-form Indian batting line-up in.
Dilshan Madushanka made an immediate impact by castling Rohit Sharma with the off-cutter on the second delivery. However, the duo of Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli steadied the ship with a brilliant partnership.
Both batters led a charmed life, getting reprieves early on in their innings. They didn't fail to capitalise and went on to score their respective half-centuries. They were in full control of the situation and looked set for their respective centuries.
However, it was Madushanka again who broke the partnership and accounted for both the set batters. Shreyas Iyer was someone who needed runs under his belt and it was a blistering knock from the powerful striker which eventually took India to a massive score of 357.
What transpired in the second half of the match was nothing short of phenomenal. The Indian fast-bowling cartel literally blew Sri Lanka away, skittling them out for just 55 in the 20th over.
The demons of the Asia Cup final were still evident as the Lankan batting line up simply had no idea against swinging ball.
Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj provided the early breakthroughs as the Lankans were reduced to 3/4 before Mohammed Shami breathed fire again, finishing with figures of 5/18.
He also became the most successful bowler for India in ODI World Cups as the Men in Blue registered their 7th consecutive win in the showpiece event.
While India looks like the team to beat, there is still a few areas of concern which can come back to haunt India in the knockout phase.
That said, let us decipher three possible concerns for India that still exist despite a monumental win against Sri Lanka:
# 1 Selection conundrum once Hardik Pandya returns
Ever since Hardik Pandya's untimely injury which forced him out of the XI, Mohammed Shami and Suryakumar Yadav have done the job for India combinedly.
While Shami has been nothing short of phenomenal with the ball, Surya also chipped in with a crucial knock against England.
However, Hardik Pandya is a guarantee in the XI once he is available for selection. He will miss the game against South Africa but could return for India's final group game against the Netherlands.
Given India's winning streak, it won't be easy for Rohit and the team management to drop someone from the playing XI which has continued their winning streak in the last three matches.
# 2 Not converting starts into big ones
While the Indian batting lineup seems to have all the bases covered, we have seen set batters perishing at crucial junctures of the game which allows the opposition to get back into the game.
In the match against England, we saw Rohit Sharma getting dismissed on 87. While India still won the match handsomely, it could have been a tricky situation for India had England batted sensibly.
Against Sri Lanka, as many as three batters missed out on their respective centuries. Virat and Gill looked set when Madushanka deceived them with slower ones. KL Rahul also couldn't convert his start which was the case against England as well.
While it hasn't affected the winning juggernaut of the Indian team, this could prove to be decisive in knock-out games and against sixes who have been on a winning roll.
# 3 Lack of part-time options in the India team
It has been an exhilarating display from the Indian bowlers in all seven matches so far. Both pace and the spin departments have a lot of variety but the only thing lacking in this team is the absence of a genuine part-time option.
In the 2011 World Cup, we saw players like Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina roll their arms over and bowled crucial overs for the eventual champions. Even Tendulkar and Sehwag also chipped in with some crucial overs.
When Hardik got injured against Bangladesh, it was Virat Kohli who had to complete his over. However, that remains the only three deliveries he has bowled in the tournament.
We haven't seen any part-time options being employed and this could be a concern on a day when one of your main bowlers starts leaking runs.
