Mohammad Shami (4-22) and Rohit Sharma (101-ball 87) powered India to a 100-run victory over England in the 29th match of the World Cup at Ekana Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
This victory maintained India's unbeaten record in the World Cup and pushed the defending champions nearly out of the semi-final race.
Chasing a challenging target of 230 for victory in Lucknow, England struggled, eventually collapsing to 129 all out in just 34.5 overs. This defeat marked their fifth loss in six matches, leaving their title defence contingent on a highly improbable series of events.
India, with six wins in as many games, have all but secured a semi-final berth. Captain Rohit Sharma led the charge for India with an impressive 87 runs as they posted 229-9. While the total appeared to be below par, it proved more than enough for a struggling England side on a sluggish pitch.
Rohit, named the man of the match, commented, "It was a great performance, and we would take that win any day."
Mohammed Shami was the standout performer, claiming four wickets for just 22 runs, while fellow fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah took three wickets to seal the match. Fireworks lit up the sky as India celebrated a crucial victory.
England's innings got off to a disastrous start, with the score at 52-5 after Bumrah took wickets on consecutive balls, putting him on a hat-trick, and Shami added two more wickets. While Jonny Bairstow played out the hat-trick ball, England lost Ben Stokes, bowled by Shami, further boosting India's chances.
Kuldeep dismissed Jos Buttler for 10, and Shami sent Moeen Ali packing for 15, bringing England's innings to a swift close.
In their earlier innings, England's left-arm fast bowler David Willey took three crucial wickets, including the prized scalp of Virat Kohli, who was out for a nine-ball duck, after England elected to bowl.
Despite losing three early wickets, including two to Chris Woakes, the unbeaten hosts recovered to 40-3 before Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul built a partnership of 91 runs. Rohit survived an lbw scare on 33, but the decision was overturned in his favor after a review.
Rohit reached his second fifty of the tournament, much to the delight of the nearly-packed stadium, which had a crowd of around 50,000. The captain and Rahul maintained the momentum, but the partnership was broken by David Willey, who dismissed Rahul.
Rohit continued to battle but was eventually dismissed by leg-spinner Adil Rashid after being caught out at deep mid-wicket by Liam Livingstone.
Virat Kohli, who endured his 16th duck in ODIs, is now just one century away from equalling Sachin Tendulkar's record of 49 hundreds in the 50-over format.
Suryakumar Yadav made a valiant effort with 49 runs before becoming Willey's third victim, but the tailenders played out the full 50 overs.
