SAM MORSHEAD AT EDGBASTON: This was Roy and Bairstow's ninth century stand in 30 innings together at the top of the order in 50-over cricket for their country, and they have now passed 50 on 16 occasions
Scorecard | Ratings | Sam Morshead
Jason Roy’s return made England immediately more imposing at the top of the order.
During Roy’s three-game absence with a hamstring tear, James Vince was asked to fill the gap.
Now, while Vince is a wonderfully talented batsman, his body language at the wicket is much more introverted than Roy’s. While he hangs back, waiting for the ball to pick off, Roy walks at the bowler. He forces himself on an attack. He makes you think about your next move.
Vince can float about at the crease between deliveries, Roy marches. You can feel his footsteps. You can sense the intent.
And that self-expression rubs off on Jonny Bairstow, who has seemed somewhat encaged in the time his usual partner has been on the physio table, almost pinned down by the weight of runscoring required of him when Roy is absent.
Here, he could once again afford to take his time early on, he could afford to be worked over by Mohammed Shami, he could just bat for batting’s sake as Roy kept the scoreboard ticking at the other end.
Then, once settled, he could unleash.
It is a perfect partnership, and the foundation upon which England have built their ODI progress.
This was the pair’s ninth century stand in 30 innings together at the top of the order in 50-over cricket for their country, and they have now passed 50 on 16 occasions.
They average 65.86 as a duo - of England’s first-wicket partnerships to have batted together 10 times or more down the years, the next closest is the 56.83 of Chris Broad and Graham Gooch - and have nearly 400 more aggregate runs than any other twosome.
Formidable doesn’t even cut it.
How invaluable Chris Woakes is rapidly becoming to England's World Cup hopes, and not just with the ball.
The allrounder was typically excellent over the course of his 10 overs at Edgbaston, recording three maidens and picking up two wickets, but his efficient groundwork in the field and confidence under a steepling catch were on show too.
The grab to get rid of Rishabh Pant, diving in front of him on the run right on the ropes, was another example of terrific athleticism.
Jason Roy got away with gloving through to MS Dhoni
It’s amazing the difference a few days without rain can make.
Edgbaston Gary Barwell and his team have been dealt a difficult hand around this World Cup, with more than four times the average June rainfall being dumped on Birmingham this month.
The ground’s first two matches - New Zealand’s meetings with South Africa and Pakistan - took place on much slower decks, on which batsmen struggled to get into any kind of groove.
This pitch, however, saw ball coming onto bat much quicker. What a difference it made for Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow. Anything short and wide or in the slot provided boundary ammunition. The same was true of India’s innings - though the strip slowed slightly, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli could still rely on a consistency of bounce.
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Even the best make mistakes.
With Jason Roy on 21 and only just getting started, the England batsman swivelled on his heels and attempted to pull Mohammed Shami.
He succeeded only in getting a glove through to MS Dhoni.
The bowler and his captain were both up in arms, but umpire Aleem Dar was unmoved.
Crucially, Dhoni talked Virat Kohli down from using a review, with which UltraEdge would have proved there was a nick. Roy smashed 10 off the next two deliveries, and he and Jonny Bairstow went on to put together a 160-run opening stand. The stage was set.
India’s chase - which would have been a World Cup record - was made all the more difficult by how slow they were out of the traps.
Their 10-over powerplay return of 28 for 1 was both the smallest of this competition and of any World Cup since 2007.
It featured a bumper 48 dot balls, and left a required rate of nearly eight runs per over for 40. Not easy, and made all the harder by the fact they cleared the ropes exactly once in 50 overs.
By comparison, England hit 13 sixes.
Jonny Bairstow celebrates his century
There are not enough words in the English language to describe Virat Kohli’s brilliance.
His 66 here was the fifth score of fifty or more from the India captain in successive innings, Kohli appeared to be in “the mood” from ball one - moving methodically about the crease, finding gaps at will and timing his shots to the nanosecond.
A clattered four through the offside off Mark Wood made the noise of a gunshot, while Ben Stokes was left with his hands on his hips when the world’s best batsman took a step across his stumps and used his wrists to pick out the eye of a needle between midwicket and wide mid-on.
In a fine second-wicket stand of 138 with Rohit Sharma, Kohli took great delight every time his partner found the ropes, hopping and skipping about his crease like a toddler learning to triple jump, punching his bat and fiddling with excitement.
Ultimately, he could not hang around to steer home a successful chase but his performance once again highlighted why there is not a soul on Planet Cricket who comes close with bat in hand.
England's death bowling was intelligent and well executed.
Instead of piling pressure on themselves attempting the yorker, Eoin Morgan's attack went slightly back of a length, bowling cutters into the pitch and cramping India's batsmen for room.
The lack of pace on the ball, a worn pitch and disciplined lines meant India were batting with an arm tied behind their back.
It illustrated real gumption, a quality England will require if they make the semi-finals.
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