England vs India 2018, 3rd ODI: 5 Talking Points

In the series decider at Leeds, Eoin Morgan won the toss and decided to bowl under overcast conditions. The England bowlers bowled in the perfect areas for the first 10 overs and never gave the Indian batsmen an opportunity to score boundaries consistently.

Then, Shikhar Dhawan accelerated quickly but ran himself out. Once Virat Kohli got out, it was downhill from there for the Indians. Decent knocks from MS Dhoni, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shardul Thakur took India to a score of 256.

Chasing 257, England got off to a fiery start with Bairstow playing a T20 style blitz. Then Dhoni ran Vince out with some brilliant glove work. Then, Morgan and Root attacked the spinners and combined for a partnership. England won the series decider easily. Here are the 5 talking points from the match.

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#1 Rashid’s middle overs' spell

Whenever the opposition batsmen have looked like running away with the game, Morgan has given the ball to Rashid. He has been England’s best bowler for some time now and again he proved his worth today.

His dismissal of Dinesh Karthik was a classic one. He realized that Karthik was driving through the covers regularly, hence he bowled a beautiful tossed up googly and Karthik’s lack of feet movement resulted in his stumps being castled.

His next dismissal was even better. Just when Kohli looked set for a century, he struck again with an absolutely magnificent leg break that cut Kohli in half. In that same over, he accounted for Raina’s wicket with another slow leg break. This spell completely derailed India’s innings and gave the English batsmen a below-par score to chase.

#2 India’s middle order struggle

Ever since 2013, India’s top three has been simply outstanding. Dhawan, Rohit, Kohli are all matchwinners in their own right but their consistency has resulted in the Indian middle order being left unchecked in many matches. This problem has only worsened since 2015 as Dhoni’s finishing abilities started waning.

No one has performed consistently at No. 4, 5 and 6 and this has resulted in increased pressure on the top order. Dhawan and Kohli both played well but once Kohli got out another Indian middle over collapse followed. KL Rahul was dropped after one bad game and DK did not use the opportunity well.

With World Cup only a year away, India has to find a solution to their middle order struggles as soon as possible.

#3 Raina’s place in the team

A lot of questions arose when Suresh Raina got a recall to the Indian ODI squad. The major criticisms were based on his disappointing IPL form and domestic season. But, the selectors backed him due to his excellent ODI record in England.

However, Raina has not cemented his place in the team after 3 opportunities. He played a decent knock in the previous game but it was not enough to justify his selection. He looks like a pale shadow of the Raina who used to attack the bowlers with so much elegance and ease.

He is a bit conservative in his approach these days. There is no real intent from him while batting. Every time he comes out to bat, he looks nervous as he is under pressure to keep his place in the team. If he decides to just go out there and express himself rather than worrying about his spot, it might help him and India, which badly needs an experienced middle order batsman.

#4 Bhuvi’s form

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been India’s spearhead in all 3 formats for almost 2 years now. From a new ball bowler who used to bowl 10 overs on the trot to one of the most reliable death overs bowlers in the world, his rise has been phenomenal.

But, ever since Pant took him apart in the IPL, he has not been at his best. He went for runs at the death with the batsmen predicting his knuckleballs easily. In the T20s against England too the trend continued with the England batsmen playing him with no pressure.

In this match also, he lacked discipline and sprayed the ball everywhere and this resulted in him giving away four boundaries in his 2nd over. His pace has not been up to the mark ever since he was injured in the IPL and this has given the batsmen enough time to account for the seam movement.

India has to give Bhuvi enough time to fully recover from his injury as his form is very important for India’s chances at the World Cup.

#5 Root’s masterclass

The main reason for England’s victory in the 2nd ODI was Joe Root’s world-class batting against Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav. On a dry pitch with a good amount of sharp turn, Root showed why he is one of the best players of spin in the world.

He taught the whole world a lesson on how to play Kuldeep. He read Kuldeep’s googlies from the hand and his impeccable feet movement helped him play some breathtaking cover drives and square cuts. He never allowed the Indian bowlers to settle on a single line and length by sweeping them constantly.

This was an innings of the highest calibre from Root and it propelled England to an easy victory.