Last Updated on 6 years by Charbel Coorey
Ah, India. You’ve let me down!
How do you expect an Aussie to take the piss out of England when they win? I had the time of my life after the 1st ODI, making Harry Potter, Test cricket and Michael Vaughan jokes. But now with England winning the series, I have to praise them?!
That’s what I’ll do.
There were big questions about England after Trent Bridge was victim to large Kuldeep, Rohit and Virat storms. However, they bounced back brilliantly, led by Joe Root and fantastic efforts from their bowlers. You have to give it to England – they are a fantastic ODI side.
Now, the big questions are on India. They rely on their top order as much as a teenager relies on their smartphone. Like Donald Trump struggling and stuttering to talk himself after each controversy, India just struggled to going in the last 20, managing just over 100 runs. The last two games were very disappointing from an Indian perspective.
Like the other two games in this series, I will take a light-hearted look at the performance of each player and rate them out of ten. Laughs and smiles are welcome, of course!
England
James Vince: Victim of some of the best work you’ll ever see from a wicketkeeper. I can’t think of many keepers who could have done what MS Dhoni did to run out James Vince. Typical Dhoni. Typical Vince, too – making a good start then getting out. 6.5
Jonny Bairstow: Jonny felt sorry for Suresh Raina so he just chipped one to him so he could have some impact on the game. What a nice guy. Delivered a fast start for England in the modest chase. 7
Joe Root: India fans, blame me for Joe Root’s revival. Just as I started reading the Harry Potter series, Joe Root started reading Kuldeep well. Two centuries in a row, and England’s all-time top century maker in ODIs. Very well played. 9.5
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| Well played, Joe… |
Eoin Morgan: The England skipper told me directly on Twitter that his team would win. I should have believed him. I was just in such disbelief that he would reply to me! 9
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| Nice of Eoin Morgan to reply to me |
Ben Stokes: Brilliant run out to get rid of the dangerous Shikhar Dhawan. Other than that, another underwhelming outing with the ball, with some poor death bowling. 3
Jos Buttler: Missed a chance of Virat Kohli but other than that, pretty safe behind the stumps. Couple of catches, then put his feet up watching his teammates canter to a series win. 5
Moeen Ali: Again went for under five an over and nearly dismissed Virat Kohli again! Who said lightning can’t strike the same place twice? 6.5
David Willey: 3/40 off nine overs. Hooped it around beautifully in the opening overs. A real solid performance from Willey not only here, but also at Lord’s. A fine effort. 9
Liam Plunkett: Liam takes the “more expensive than a gold digger” award for this game. 2
Adil Rashid: Just how good is Adil Rashid bowling right now? All the talk was about Kuldeep a few days ago, but now he’s taken the limelight. 3/49 here is a great reward for plenty of good bowling in recent times. Great ball to get Virat Kohli out, again! 9
Mark Wood: Like Joe Root, India fans should blame me for Mark Wood’s revival. I referred to him as more expensive than a gold digger a few days back. Now, he took 1/30 in ten. Superb. 9
India
Rohit Sharma: “I have asked the BCCI to schedule a Sri Lanka series urgently”, said a dejected Rohit after the game. “I know we have the Asia Cup coming up soon, but it’s not enough.” As I’ve said previously, I am a fan of Rohit, but it was a very disappointing last two games from him. 2
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| Interesting words by Rohit Sharma after the match |
Shikhar Dhawan: Some of the best strokeplay you’ll see, but was run out after yet another start. It was a “what could have been” series for Shikhar. 7
Virat Kohli: Kohli made the face that myself and the whole of India made when he was bowled by Rashid. It wasn’t only “what a ball” but rather “oh damn, Raina is next”. 8.5
Dinesh Karthik: His shot to get dismissed was the kind of shot a tailender would play when he gets excited about a looping leggy. Ugly stuff on his return to the side. Looked promising, though. 5
MS Dhoni: India need to have a big think about MS Dhoni’s role. They can’t have him batting while worried about getting out. He needs to be enabled to play his strokes. After all, even India’s tail is more capable than the likes of Bangladesh’s top order right now. 6
Suresh Raina: Some nice catching practice from Suresh to leg slip. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a training session. 2
Hardik Pandya: No offence, but if Hardik is opening the bowling for you, what chance do you have? A good option for the middle overs. 5.5
Bhuvneshwar Kumar: Struggle with the bat, expensive with the ball, and a dropped catch. Tough outing on Bhuvi’s return to the side. In and out of teams like a yo-yo at the moment. India need him fit and firing in the Tests. 3
Shardul Thakur: One of India’s best performers. Hit his team’s first six in 638 balls this series, which helped India get over 250. Then bowled pretty well to finish with 1/51. However, that this performance was one of the shining lights represents a dark day for India. 7
Kuldeep Yadav: England played him very well. Didn’t have the impact he had first up. 5
Yuzvendra Chahal: Another economic outing for Chahal, but the wickets column is as dry as some of Harsha Bhogle’s tweets and insights. 7.5
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So, there we have it. England deservedly win the series 2-1, which is a huge result for them. In fact, it’s their eighth straight series win.
For India, there is plenty to work on. No doubt about it.
But for now, it’s time to get excited for the Test series. Stay tuned for more on this series.
Thanks for reading!
