England vs India 2018: 4 unnoticed things from the second ODI

After a superb performance in the T20I series and a convincing win in the first ODI, the Indian team locked horns with England for the Penultimate ODI of the series at Lord's.

England won the toss for the first time in this series and elected to bat first. Both the teams didn’t make any changes and decided to play with the same XI.

England had a good start as both the openers built a partnership of 69 runs in the first 10 overs. Kuldeep Yadav’s 3-wicket spell helped India make a comeback but a really poor death bowling display from the Indian pacers meant England posted a mammoth total of 322 runs.

Chasing a mountain high 323 to seal the series, India didn’t have the promising start as it lost both the openers cheaply. Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina tried to build a partnership but Moeen Ali dismissed Kohli in the 27th over.

Dhoni along with Raina, Hardik and Kuldeep, tried to win it for India but didn’t get support from the other end. India went on to lose the match by 86 runs. Here’s a look at some things that you might have missed from the game.

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#1 England played wrist spinners better than ever on this tour

The Indian spin twins Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal have been producing magic from their wrists in the recent times. Every time the Indian pacers have failed to give a good start to the team, the spinners come into the attack and disrupt the opposition's flow.

The story has been the same in this India-England series as well. Whenever things started to look difficult for India, Kuldeep Yadav’s heroics and Yuzi Chahal’s supporting spells took the team out of the danger. But the tables turned in the 2nd ODI.

The English batsmen scored a total of 111 runs in the 20 overs bowled by both the wrist spinners. Joe Root’s century was a sublime proof that it’s not impossible to play wrist spin for him and his team. It’s true that the team has struggled against left-arm wrist spin on sluggish wickets, but not every team’s spin department will turn out to be a threat for this England side.

Although they’ve found it really hard to read Kuldeep’s angle since his front hand is more often not visible when he is bowling a googly, it doesn’t mean that every team can handle the England batsmen by keeping a couple of wristies in their side.

#2 300th catch for Dhoni in ODIs

Not only his brute force with the bat but his sheer brilliance behind the wickets has also proved MS Dhoni's mettle all over the world. He has created and broken an enormous number of records on the cricket field and today was one of those occasions when the former Indian captain achieved yet another feat.

Dhoni, in today’s match, became the first Indian wicketkeeper to take 300 catches in ODIs. Internationally, he became the fourth wicket-keeper to do so. Adam Gilchrist, Mark Boucher and Kumar Sangakkara are the only other wicketkeepers who stand before him in this list.

Dhoni completed 10,000 ODI runs in the match as well.

#3 Highest score for David Willey in ODIs

David Willey adds depth to England’s batting line-up. Though he might not be a certain pick for the 2019 CWC, he is perhaps the most valuable player of the current limited over English side. His variations with the new ball are no less than a blessing for England and his finishing abilities are like an icing on the cake.

The Northampton lad yet again proved his value by scoring a half-century at a crucial juncture. It was his highest ODI score as well. This innings was one of the major driving forces behind England’s total as he started hitting the ball from one end and removed the pressure from Joe Root, who later on completed his century and did rest of the finishing job.

#4 Morgan introduced spin in the 19th over

In the modern era, there has been a lot of change in the way of this game is played. Gone are those days when spinners used to bowl only in the middle overs. Nowadays, a spinner is sometimes even asked to start the proceedings for his team. Giving the ball to a spinner in the powerplay is no more a surprise.

But a different kind of incident happened in this match. The English captain Eoin Morgan didn’t introduce spin until the 19th over. Though in the 19th over, Morgan gave the ball to Moeen Ali, who gave just 1 run in that over.

This was the latest that England have introduced spin since the Champions Trophy 2017.