Last Updated on 6 years by Charbel Coorey
What an interesting series it has been. What a reversal. Refer to article title.
India have now channeled their inner Australia, delivering a performance that the weakened Australia side in England would have even been disappointed with. The absence of Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar is like the feeling you have when you’re missing something important in your life. The 2nd ODI was proof of just how important these two are to their World Cup chances in 2019.
For England, it looked like Eoin Morgan was in a generous mood. Batting first was always a risk against an India side that loves to chase, and then he hit a full toss into the hands of deep midwicket.
However, it all turned out well for England, who have leveled the series. They can start tweeting and writing articles that they are unbeatable again believing that they can beat their biggest challenger, India, at home ahead of next year’s World Cup.
Two of the top ODI sides in the world have both had a shocker each, which will definitely mean the 3rd ODI will be a thriller. One can hope, right?
In this cricket opinion article, I will go through each player and rate them out of ten. As always, it’s light hearted. As always, feel free to leave a comment!
England
Jason Roy: Couldn’t believe his luck, but I couldn’t believe his shot. Was always going to pick out deep midwicket. Again looking really dangerous, but would love to kick on in the third ODI. 7
Jonny Bairstow: As an Aussie, it’s always nice seeing an England batsman get out after the ball hits the pad, then glove, then goes onto the stumps. Unlucky as it gets. Looked good for more. 7
Joe Root: “What did that CricBlog guy say about reading Harry Potter quicker than I could read Kuldeep?” asked Root. “I proved him wrong”. Fantastic response from Joe Root after a disappointing limited overs campaign v India so far. Kept the scoreboard ticking right throughout the innings. When Jos Buttler was out, England looked in real trouble, but he stuck around till the end. Excellent century. 9.5
Eoin Morgan: “Here you go” said Eoin Morgan. “Thank you”, replied Kuldeep Yadav. I said to myself that I’ve seen less gifts at Christmas time, but all worked out well for Morgs after winning the toss and batting first. Made a good half century. 8
Ben Stokes: Hasn’t been the same since the incident last year. Three catches brightened up what was otherwise another underwhelming outing. England will be hoping he recaptures his best punch form. 4
Jos Buttler: Superb glovework after a rare failure with the bat these days. The catch to dismiss KL Rahul was like the best thing since sliced bread. 5
Moeen Ali: Moeen dismissed Kohli. I repeat. Moeen dismissed Kohli. Went for just 42 in his ten. A much improved outing from ‘Mo. 7.5
David Willey: A fantastic all-round performance. Basically told MS Dhoni that he looks forward to being part of the CSK squad again next year. He would be dreaming about Umesh Yadav and Siddarth Kaul, no doubt. 9
Adil Rashid: “It seems Kuldeep and Chahal are the only wristspinners playing”, said Rashid post match. “Don’t forget about me”. We won’t. Fantastic bowling effort, taking 2/38 off his ten. 8.5
Liam Plunkett: Blew the Indians away. Excellent response after a challenging first ODI. 8.5
Mark Wood: More expensive than a gold digger in the last match but went a little better this game, despite nowhere near his best in his five overs. Big wicket of Sharma, though. 6.5
India
Rohit Sharma: Think of someone posing nicely for a photo, then deciding to make an ugly face out of absolutely nowhere. I’ve seen prettier things at 2am on a Saturday night outside nightclubs than Rohit’s shot to get out. Took an amazing catch that is definitely worth mentioning, though. 2.5
Shikhar Dhawan: Again looked good, but again couldn’t convert. Backward point is his enemy so far this series. 6.5
Virat Kohli: On track for one of those masterclass chases but was dismissed by Moeen Ali. Yes, anything can happen in life. 7
KL Rahul: Not his best day in the field and was victim of a great catch by Buttler. Quiet day. 1
Suresh Raina: Suresh’s strike rate is written as 73. However, it should say “cause for Dinesh Karthik being in the side growing louder”. 6
MS Dhoni: A disappointing day to go past 10,000 ODI runs. I don’t agree with booing a great servant to Indian cricket, but his innings was definitely disappointing. Of course, Dhoni needed more support, but his Test days are over. No need to audition for it. 4
Hardik Pandya: Is Hardik offering enough? On current evidence, probably not, looking at these Twitter poll results. 4
Umesh Yadav: The master of three good balls, two awful balls at the death. I would still buy that ten storey mansion over Umesh Yadav at the death. Execution as good as his haircut! 4
Siddarth Kaul: “It’s not fair that all the focus is on Umesh at the death. I’m worried about him when he gets criticised,” said Siddarth. “I will take some of the focus off him by bowling some rubbish.” 2
Kuldeep Yadav: England clearly had plans to go after him. Took three wickets but with balls that didn’t deserve wickets. Still a very dangerous prospect for England, though. 6.5
Yuzvendra Chahal: All the talk has been about Kuldeep, but Yuzvendra Chahal continues to play an excellent role for India. 1/43 is a fabulous return/ India’s best performer for the day. 7.5
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So then, a complete reversal from the first game!
England were very good in this game, and India poor. Will things balance out in the third match so we can get an absolute thriller? One can hope so.
Thanks for reading!
