India openers Shikhar Dhawan (2) and Rohit Sharma (2) were both dismissed by Trent Boult with beauties, the much spoken about No.4 slot saw K.L. Rahul walk in to join skipper Kohli. With the score on 10/2 in the fourth over and the world waiting to see Rahul weave his magic, the batsman ended up playing on one from Boult in the sixth over of the innings.
The legendary cricketer Dhoni was looking good with the bat as he played some good strokes but it was Southee who ultimately snared Dhoni for 17 after Neesham’s double strike in the 20th over and India were 96-7.
At when time when it seemed that India would suffer a major humiliating collapse, senior batsman Jadeja and spinner Kuldeep Yadav stitched a 50-run partnership.
Jadeja, who top-scored for his side, played a fighting knock 50-ball 54 to power India to a low but decent total.
The conditions were always expected to hold the key and former West Indies skipper Brian Lara had told IANS that the team which manages to adapt best to conditions would be favourite to lift the trophy.
"It all depends on the weather conditions and if the tracks are slow and dry, it will obviously help the spinners. But English weather is so unpredictable that you get a week of rain and you have green tracks. That is why I do like the Indian attack as they have got variety. They got good pace bowlers and spinners who can perform in any condition.
"It is hard to say what the conditions are going to be like, but I think the best performing team will be winning the World Cup and not ones who will wait for the perfect conditions. India and England are the two favourites and quite rightly so because of their performance," he said.
In fact, the legendary Sachin Tendulkar had also told IANS that it will be important for every batsman to contribute and not just rely on the top three - Rohit, Shikhar and Kohli.