Hits and misses: 3rd ODI, England vs India

An anti-climatic series decider saw England steam rolling India with ease and comfort thus winning the 3 match ODI series 2-1.

After winning the toss Eoin Morgan decided to put India into bat. The swinging conditions tested India’s batsmen. After a slow start, Kohli and Dhawan steadied India’s ship before Dhawan gifted his wicket away to a careless runout.

Just when India started building another partnership, Adil Rashid came in and with his leggies, damaged the back of India’s middle order. Dhoni tried his best to hold one end strong but he too was dismissed. Late cameos from Bhuvi and Shradul ensured India ended up with a below par yet respectable total to bowl at.

England started the chase with a bang as both the openers especially Bairstow kick-started the innings with a flurry of boundaries. With such a blistering partnership at top England played sensibly in the middle overs handling the spinners easily. Both Root and Morgan looked untroubled at the crease. It was a walk in the park for them as India’s bowling looked toothless.

Let’s take a look at some of the players who had a good day at the office and some others who missed out on the opportunities of making an impact.

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#1 Miss: Rohit Sharma

One of the world’s best white ball batsmen, Rohit Sharma, found himself struggling against the moving ball again in the third ODI. After Morgan put India into bat, the openers were expected to give India a blistering start but what was on display was the complete opposite.

Rohit started very cautiously and was looking all at seas against the ball which was swinging and seaming. He was beaten quite a few times. Rohit took 17 deliveries scoring just 2 runs. As the pressure mounted Rohit came down the track on 18th delivery and hit a slog straight into the hands of Mark Wood thus ending his struggle in the middle.

It’s hard to understand why a player of such high quality in the form of Rohit Sharma has not been able to perform against the moving ball. Rohit definitely missed a chance to prove himself again.

#2 Hit: Adil Rashid

It’s a format of wrist spinners. The statement doing rounds in the world cricket at the moment was glorified by the performance of Adil Rashid in today’s match. Rashid took 3 wickets in his full quota of overs giving away just 49 runs.

The leggie came into attack when Kohli and Karthik were at the crease. They were finding life easy against Rashid before he induced a false drive from Karthik and got him bowled. The big wicket came in the form of Kohli, Rashid bowled an absolute peach of a delivery which pitched on middle stump and zipped past to take out Kohli’s off stump. He then removed Raina in the same over.

Adil Rashid’s contribution in the game helped England restrict India to a below-par total. He was definitely a hit in this game.

#3 Hit: Virat Kohli

Currently, the best batsman in the world and India’s No.3, Virat Kohli, continues to churn out runs in his own fashion. He came out to bat in a pressure situation when run scoring was difficult and the ball was swinging around.

He started with rotating the strike and build formidable partnerships with Dhawan and Karthik. Kohli looked set for a big hundred before an Adil Rashid’s delivery gripped in the surface and took away his off stump.

Virat ended up making a vital contribution of 71 off just 72 balls. On a pitch where every other Indian batsman struggled, Virat played a classical knock and helped the team to post a respectable total to defend.

#4 Miss: Kuldeep Yadav

A spin-friendly wicket with the pitch holding up, a lot more was expected from Kuldeep Yadav of what he delivered. Kuldeep looked out of sorts in the series decider as he leaked away 55 runs in his 10 overs. The surprising thing was that the ace spinner went wicketless.

Kuldeep’s counterpart spinner Chahal and his opposite number Adil Rashid were both brilliant but the young chinaman failed to make an impact on the game. His lines and lengths were not up to the mark. Bowling some really short stuff the leggie never allowed the pressure to build on England batsmen as they worked him out quite easily compared to the first 2 matches.

Whether it was the pressure of the expectations or just an off day, Kuldeep really has to find a way to make a comeback as he is India’s one of the most important players leading to 2019 world cup.

#5 Hit: Joe Root

One of England’s best players and among the fab four of world cricket, Joe Root proved again why he is one of England’s most reliable batsmen. Root came in at No.3 after Bairstow provided a solid opening burst.

Root continued his form from the previous ODI and scored his second consecutive century seeing his side through.

The Yorkshire man played according to the situation and nudged away singles with ease. The most impressive thing in the innings was his reading of Kuldeep Yadav which settled a few doubts about him playing against spin.

Root being back in the form is a very good sign for England cricket as he is their mainstay in the test matches as well.