India suffered yet another series defeat following their 27-run loss to England in the third and final ODI at Lord's in London on Sunday. The series was evenly poised at 1-1 coming into the third ODI, which meant that the final match was a winner-takes-all contest. England won the series 2-1.
The series wrapped up India's disappointing tours of Ireland and England. India lost 0-2 to Ireland in a T20I series, and then 0-4 to England in a five-match T20I series. Their ODI series loss to England comes as a significant setback for India in their early preparations for the ODI World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia late next year.
Ben Duckett stars for England with knock of 141
Earlier, England produced one of their finest ODI batting displays after captain Harry Brook elected to bat first. Openers Ben Duckett and Jacob Bethell laid the perfect platform with a 192-run partnership, frustrating India's bowlers on a flat Lord's surface. Duckett led the charge with a superb 141, while Bethell narrowly missed out on a century after making 91.
India finally broke the stand when Prasidh Krishna dismissed Bethell, while Prince Yadav removed the well-set Duckett.
However, England did not lose momentum. Joe Root continued his remarkable run of form with an unbeaten 74 from just 48 deliveries, becoming the first England batter to register six consecutive ODI fifty-plus scores.
Jos Buttler then provided the finishing touches with an explosive unbeaten 41 off only 13 balls as England piled up 387/3, the highest ODI total ever recorded at Lord's.
India fail to script record chase
India required a record chase and responded in impressive fashion through Rohit Sharma and captain Shubman Gill.
The opening pair erased early pressure with positive strokeplay, adding a century partnership that gave the visitors genuine belief. Rohit, under scrutiny following a lean run in the series, looked back to his fluent best as he dominated both pace and spin with elegant drives, powerful pulls and calculated aggression.
The veteran opener reached his half-century before converting it into a brilliant century, his innings becoming the key player of India's chase.
Shubman Gill scored 77 runs from 84 balls, whereas Virat Kohli contributed a knock of 74 runs from 60 balls. At one stage, India even looked set to give England a competitive fight. However, once Kohli was dismissed in the 46th over, India were left in a spot of bother at 315/5.
Despite late hitting from Arshdeep Singh and Gurnoor Brar, India could not bridge the gap as England closed out a 27-run victory.
For England, Sam Curran was their pick of the bowlers with figures of 4/75 from 10 overs. Jacob Bethell was adjudged the Player of the Match for his knock of 91 whereas Joe Root was named Player of the Series for top-scoring with 249 runs in the series.
