The Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Manchester was a sea of blue as Indian supports swamped the stadium wearing blue jerseys with the Indian tricolour in hand. Much to their delight, their team did not let them down as India put up another quality exhibition of cricket, resulting in their fifth win at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, thus remaining the only unbeaten team in the tournament.

Winning the toss, Virat Kohli elected to bat first. Both teams, having played at the venue in Manchester, had a good understanding of the pitch and conditions. The unchanged Team India were put on the backfoot early on after Rohit Sharma was on his way back in disbelief. After the on-field umpire turning down the appeal, bowler Kemar Roach asked for a review. The third umpire, though, to the surprise of many, decided to overturn the initial decision and adjudge Rohit out.

Skipper Kohli and KL Rahul did well to overcome the setback as they put on a steady 69-run partnership. While Rahul missed out on a chance half-century, Kohli continued his glorious form as he got a fourth consecutive CWC 19 fifty to his name. In the process, the Indian captain became the fastest player to touch 20,000 international runs.

Roach was the prime bowler for the Men in Maroon as he also picked up wickets of Vijay Shankar and Kedar Jadhav. Hardik Pandya played a quintessential Pandya knock, while MS Dhoni despite a sedate innings managed to help India finish on a strong note. With sixteen runs coming off his willow in the last over, the Men in Blue put up 268 runs on the board.

Knowing their total would not guarantee a win, the Indian seam bowlers ran in with pace and intent. Mohammed Shami continued in fine rhythm as he took another four-fer, that consisted of Chris Gayle and Shai Hope getting out in single digits. Sunil Ambris and Nicholas Pooran paired up to undo the damage done by the Indian pacers.

However, Hardik Pandya – who was playing his 50^th One Day International in Indian colours – got the breakthrough for his team. Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, too, chipped in with wickets while ensuring the required run rate and pressure on the Windies kept increasing. A notable moment during India’s bowling was Bumrah’s sixth over – where the World Number 1 was on a hat-trick. Although he could not get the third, India’s ace bowler finished with staggering figures of 6-1-9-2.

Yet another top-notch display by India’s bowling unit ensured their opposition bundled out for 143. Winning with a 125-run margin, the Men in Blue got two more points in their pocket and inched closer to a confirmed berth in the semi-finals. India will now meet hosts England in their next game on Sunday at Edgbaston, Birmingham.