England vs India 2018: 5 things we learnt from the T20I series

After a good start to the UK in Ireland, India have continued the same form into the T20I series against England. The fact that India has managed to win the tournament without Jasprit Bumrah is commendable.

India registered a convincing win in the first match, thanks to Kuldeep's five for and KL Rahul's century. In the second match, Indian batsmen faltered on a tough batting pitch. The English batsmen made sure that they do not make similar mistakes and helped their side level the series.

India suffered another big blow in the pace department just before the decider in the form of Bhuvneshwar Kumar. In spite of the setback, Indian bowlers were excellent in the death overs and managed to restrict England to a score which was 20-30 short of the par score.

The excellent bowling effort from the inexperienced lineup on a flat pitch made the work of the Indian batsmen easy. Rohit Sharma, the man of the series, hit a fluent century and helped India chase down the target easily with eight balls to spare.

With India winning the T20I, there are a few things that everyone should know about before proceeding to the next part of the tour. Here are the five things that we learnt from the T20I series:

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#1 KL Rahul, 'an invaluable asset'

He did not make a similar impact in the next two matches but he never looked out of touch. In the second match, he was cleaned up by Plunkett in an unnecessary attempt to loft the ball over the inner circle. In the third match, he perished as a consequence of a superb catch by Chris Jordan.Every ardent follower of Indian cricket is aware of the immense talent possessed by KL Rahul. A cricketer who can dominate in all formats of the game is an invaluable asset to the team.

Rahul has brought his IPL form to the United Kingdom and is making the most of his purple patch. After scoring a half-century against Ireland, he went a step ahead in the very first match of this series and scored a century while chasing down England's 159.

In spite of the two blips, Rahul is definitely the one to watch out for in this tour to England. A gifted player like him is bound to improve as he plays more and more matches. Rahul, undoubtedly the second most talented player after Virat Kohli, should not be kept waiting on the sidelines and he will most likely be given the chances that he deserves in this tour of England.

#2 Evolution of Hardik Pandya, the bowler

After losing out Kedar Jadhav to injury, captain Kohli was left with only five bowling options. Many apprehensions arose over Hardik Pandya bowling his full quota of overs. Ever since Pandya was given the full responsibility with the ball, he has improved leaps and bounds.

Even in this series, he showed a steady progress and the same was visible in his bowling figures. His figures improved as the series progressed. In the first two matches, he picked up one wicket in each match with decent economy rates of 8.25 and 7.

In the third match, he had the worst possible start as he conceded 22 runs his very first over. But he came back strongly and took four wickets for just 16 runs in his next three overs.

Not only has he bowled well, he also contributed with the bat as he scored 45 runs off 24 balls without being dismissed even once. Pandya's improvement with the ball will definitely be a boost to India's chances in the World Cup that will be played next year.

Pandya's bowling figures:

1st match: 4-0-33-1

2nd match: 4-0-28-1

3rd match: 4-0-38-4

#3 England's woes against wrist spin continue

England's spin woes were well known even before the start of the series. But with the kind of form that they were in against Australia, they were expected to do better as a team. While Kuldeep Yadav bamboozled England in the first T20I, they were able to keep him away in the second T20I.

Buttler and Hales were the only two England players who looked a bit comfortable against spin. If the rest of the side do not rectify their mistakes soon, England will be in deep deep trouble in the upcoming ODI series. They have to chart their plans against spin keeping in mind the World Cup or else they might as well lose the golden chance of winning the tournament for the first time.

#4 Suresh Raina should not be written off yet

England v India - 2nd Vitality International T20

A Suresh Raina comeback was written off by many and him not clearing the Yo-Yo test in the first attempt raised many questions. But Raina proved his fitness and has never looked back since then.

He performed decently in South Africa and Sri Lanka in the T20Is. He also had a good IPL season with the champions Chennai Super Kings. In England, he just got to play once that too on a tough Cardiff wicket. He had the highest strike among Indian batsmen in that match.

With Ambati Rayudu not clearing the Yo-Yo test, Suresh Raina might play an ODI for the first time after nearly three years. If Raina manages to utilize the chance properly he might even have a chance to make it to the Indian squad for the 2019 World Cup. A lot will depend on his performance in the upcoming series and he'll try to make the most of any opportunities given to him.

#5 England are not invincible even in England

The limited over English side that we see now is completely different from the side that played the 2015 World Cup. The current side is fearless and players are willing to attack right from the word go. England came into the series at the back of a phenomenal sweep against Australia, winning 5 ODIs and one-off T20I.

Even with the great form that England are in, India has shown that with quality bowling attack, the dangerous England batting lineup can be restricted. After the 2015 World Cup, England have a win-loss ratio of 2.69 in limited overs cricket. But the defeat has shown that England is not invincible and can be beaten if the opposition teams manage to execute their plans well.

England might still be the favourites in the 2019 World Cup but one can surely say that a quality side like the one that India possess can stop them from lifting their maiden ODI World Cup.

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