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India vs Sri Lanka, Cricket World Cup 2023: India registers their biggest victory in World Cup in terms of runs.

India vs Sri Lanka, Cricket World Cup 2023: India handed Sri Lanka a 302-run defeat in Mumbai to become the first team to reach the semifinals of the 2023 World Cup. India's sensational victory was headlined by Mohammed Shami's second five-wicket haul of the tournament after brilliant innings from Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer.

Kalpana

Nov 2, 2023 - 22:53

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India vs Sri Lanka, Cricket World Cup 2023.

India became the first team to storm into the semifinals of the 2023 World Cup when they defeated Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday. India are the only undefeated team in the tournament so far and are currently on top of the points table with 14 points from 7 matches.

The win of 302 runs is also one of the biggest wins in all-time ODI cricket and is fourth in the table. Interestingly it was once again Sri Lanka on the receiving hand when it comes to all-time records in ODIs as India beat them by 317 runs in Thiruvananthapuram earlier this year.

Shubman Gill (92), Virat Kohli (88) and Shreyas Iyer (82) headlined India's 357 for 8 after Sri Lanka captain Kusal Mendis. And then, Mohammed Shami led a spectacular performance from India's pace attack to blow Sri Lanka away for 55. Shami went past Zaheer Khan and Javagal Srinath to become the leading wicket-taker for India in ODI World Cups and equaled Mitchell Starc's tally for most five-wicket hauls in World Cups. Shami needed just 14 matches to reach 45 wickets while Zaheer and Srinath had finished with 44 wickets in World Cups.

India have now reached the semifinals of ODI World Cups for the fourth successive time after a disastrous campaign in 2007 which ended in the group stages following shock defeats to Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Four years later, India defeated Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium to win the World Cup and in 2015, they remained undefeated in 6 matches to top the group, beat Bangladesh in the quarter-finals before a crushing defeat to Australia in the semifinals. In 2019, once again, India were table-toppers but lost a thriller to New Zealand in the semifinals.

The Sri Lankan chase was completely crushed by India's pace trio. Jasprit Bumrah struck with the first ball of the innings, Mohammed Siraj picked three wickets in his first two overs while Mohammed Shami continued his sensational run, picking his fourth wicket in just his third over. It was one of the worst performances in a World Cup match by a full-member nation. Sri Lanka had reached the World Cup after winning the Cricket World Cup qualifiers but their abject display on Thursday was utterly disappointing.

Sri Lanka had shown promise in the lead-up to the World Cup. They had defeated Pakistan in the Super 4s of the Asia Cup and ran India close before that. In the final, they were blown away by Mohammed Siraj who was at it again in Mumbai. To make matters more difficult, India also had Mohammed Shami in their ranks and he has been unplayable in the three games he has played so far for India.

India, now assured of a semifinal berth, will take on South Africa at the Eden Gardens on November 5.