Topley leads England to second ODI win over India on World Cup anniversary

On the third anniversary of England’s greatest moment in this format they returned to Lord’s with a performance that might, with a little effort, have sparked hazy memories of that World Cup final win here. Those present might be less likely to tell their grandkids about it in some imagined future, but the transformation of a moderate target into victory by a 100-run margin will be celebrated all the same.

England’s bowlers might not always be able to swing a ball, but sometimes they can turn a game. Reece Topley’s six wickets for 24 runs, with one ball of his 10 overs left unbowled, represent the best bowling figures by an Englishman in the history of this format. Though he ended India’s innings, it was Topley’s bowling with David Willey at its start that transformed the match.

The latter’s opening spell was consistently excellent, even if for most of it all the action came when he was not bowling. His first two overs were maidens, his first five cost just six runs, and two balls later he took the key wicket of Virat Kohli to leave India 31 for four. It was the 12th over and England had turned the tourists’ run chase from a molehill into a mountain.

Topley had already taken the wickets of India’s openers, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, and Rishabh Pant had dumped Brydon Carse’s second ball of the day straight to mid-on to depart for a duck.

Though Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya brought some stability to India’s innings, neither stayed long enough to turn the tide back in their team’s favour, and on a night when many of the England captain’s decisions brought rapid reward, their partnership was broken when Topley returned in the 21st over and Yadav chopped his second delivery into his stumps.

Pandya eventually