IND vs ENG: 3rd ODI Review – India completes clean sweep over England

India emerged as deserved winners of the ODI series after winning the third game of the 50-over series by a convincing 142-run margin at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Opting to bat first, Rohit Sharma departed on the first delivery of the second over. However, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli rebuilt the innings by putting on 116 for the second wicket. Kohli brought up his 73rd half-century in the format before getting dismissed by Adil Rashid for the fifth time in ODIs. Gill carried on and registered a splendid ton to his name, his seventh in ODIs.

A middle-order lapse after Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul were dismissed for 78 and 40, respectively, got India to 356 at the end. They were bowled out for the score, their join third-highest against England in ODIs. Gus Atkinson and Joe Root proved to be quite expensive in their respective spells. Adil Rashid picked up his first four-wicket haul in ODIs after 23 innings.

England started their powerplay in a rollicking fashion. They put on 60 in their first six overs. However, a couple of slower deliveries by Arshdeep Singh got the better of the two opening batters. The tourists notched up 84 in the first powerplay; their best in the ODI series. Tom Banton, coming back into the ODI setup after almost five years, and former Indian skipper, Joe Root, tried stabilising the innings.

However, their dismissals were implicitly the final straw for England. Gus Atkinson’s 19-ball 38-run blitz was never going to be enough. England were all-out for 214 in 34.2 overs. Four of India’s bowlers including Hardik Pandya ended up with a couple of wickets under their belt. This was the sixth time in the eight games played in the white-ball series that England had lost all 10 of their wickets during their innings.

Best Performers of the match

Shubman Gill (112 off 102)

Gill continued his fine form in the format with a remarkable ton, consisting of 14 fours and three sixes. This was his third impressive score in the ODI series, after a couple of fifties in the past two games.

Adil Rashid (4/64 in 10 overs)

Rashid, despite being on the losing side, was the pick of the bowlers on the day. His impressive guile and the ability to extract sharp turns off the deck proved to be the undoing of four of India’s batters.

What’s next for the two teams?

Both sides will head over to Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates to feature in the upcoming edition of the Champions Trophy. India will take on Bangladesh in Dubai on February 20, while England will square off against Australia to kick off their Champions Trophy campaign on February 22 in Lahore.