Virat Kohli & Co tasted the first defeat in the ongoing World Cup as England registered a 31-run win, their first over India in 27 years in the marquee event. The win saw England stay alive with a chance to qualify for the semi-final stages as Rohit Sharma 102 went in vain.

Chasing 338 for a win was never going to be easy, especially when India lost opener K.L. Rahul for a duck. But with skipper Virat Kohli joining the in-form Rohit Sharma in the middle, it was all about buying time in the middle as they blunted the English attack with their perfect mix of caution and aggression.

The Indian skipper and his deputy cruised to their respective fifties - Kohli's fifth in a row - till Liam Plunkett dismissed the India skipper against the run of play in the 29th over for a 76-ball 66. Pitching on the fifth stump, the bowler induced the wide drive and James Vince - substitute for Jason Roy -- picked a diving catch. The 138-run partnership coming to an abrupt end.

With the score reading 146/2, Rishabh Pant walked in to join Rohit. While Pant looked anxious to start with, a lot of counselling from Rohit finally saw him settle down, but Rohit was the next one to throw his wicket away after doing all the hard work and reaching his 25th ODI hundred as he went for a wild hoick off Chris Woakes. The score read 198/3 with 140 needed off 13.5 overs.

Hardik Pandya joined Pant and the two did put on some display as they looked to take the attack to the English bowlers, but one shot too many finally saw Pant (32) perish as Woakes picked a blinder at the long leg boundary.

After that, it was on Dhoni and Pandya to see India home, but an attempt to hit Plunkett out of the park saw Pandya (45) dismissed in the 45th over with India still needing another 71 runs off 31 balls. Kedar Jadhav walked in to join Dhoni in the middle, but the England bowlers kept bowling a tight line as the duo failed to score at around 15 runs every over. While Dhoni finished with an unbeaten 31-ball 42, Kedar was unbeaten on 12 off 31 balls.


Earlier, it was all about being slow and steady as the English batsmen started cautiously and then launched into a late-innings flourish in their must-win game. Riding on the back of a brilliant 160-run opening stand between centurion Jonny Bairstow (111) and Jason Roy (66), England finished on 337/7 in their 50 overs.