OdishaLIVE Bureau
England beat India in the series decider at headingley
- England thump India by 8 wickets in the final match of the series
- England win the series 2-1 after losing the first match
England beat India comprehensively in the series decider at healingly with an all-round batting and bowling display. They outplayed India in every department and won the series by 2-1. English fans will call this a comeback after losing out the T20 series to India by the same margin.
England won the toss and opted to bowl first. There was a hint of spin on the pitch but that hint turned out to be decisive as the match progressed. India began the innings with its openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma who both have had good campaigns so far. India were off to a slow start scoring just 13 runs in 5.3 overs.
Rohit Sharma probably felt the need to break the shackles and tried to flick the ball to the leg side but was caught and India had their first wicket down. The new batsman at the crease was the in the form skipper Kohli who was looking to build a partnership with Dhawan.
India managed to get to a total of 32 runs in 10 overs. The pair were scoring runs initially at a slower rate looking to build a foundation. But, then Shikhar Dhawan took charge. He hit 3 successive fours in the 13th over bowled by Plunkett and it looked like India were getting back in the game after their sluggish start.
But in the 18th over luck was yet again not in Dhawan’s side when he was run out by Ben stokes with a rocket of a throw. In came No.4 Dinesh Karthik who was back in the team after a while. Karthik looked like he wasn’t out of the team and had played in this pitch since forever. He was timing the ball really well and hit his first ball for a boundary. Kohli on the other hand was playing a matured innings, taking risks when required. He reached his fifty in 55 balls which included 6 fours.
As the pair were looking to take their partnership to the next level, India faced another setback when Dinesh Karthik was bowled by spinner Rashid in the 25th over. He tried to hit him through the covers but edged the ball straight into the stumps and was bowled.
India were back to square one, and now Veteran Dhoni and Kohli had a major task on their hand. But wickets kept falling and this time it was skipper Kohli. Rashid’s balls spun through Kohli and hit the stumps which sent the skipper back to the pavilion after making 71 runs. India were 4 wickets down at 156 in the 31st over.
The new batsman at the crease was Suresh Raina. But, he soon perished in the same over when he glanced the ball to the man at leg slip. India were in big trouble and needed a partnership, urgently.
Hardik Pandya was the new batsmen and he along with Dhoni needed to stay at the crease as long as possible. It looked like the stage was set for both of the big hitters as there were 11 overs left and India needed a big finish.
But, Hardik Pandya was caught behind from a beautiful delivery by Mark Wood in the 39th over and India were down to 6 wickets.
All hopes lied on Dhoni as India needed to put a respectable score on the board. Dhoni took his time, knowing that his ability of smashing the ball at the last will cover it up for him. But, he also perished in the 46th over as he was caught behind by another beauty of a delivery, this time from David Willey. India managed to post a total of 256 runs at the end of 50 over, thanks to a late flourish from Shardul Thakur.
England opened their Innings with Batsmen Johnny Bairstow and James Vince. India needed a very good bowling performance and hopes were high from star bowlers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Kuldeep Yadav.
England were off to a brilliant start with Johnny Bairstow taking the charge at Kumar and smashing him all around the park. But, he got out in the 5th over when he guided the ball straight into the hands of Suresh Raina. In form batsmen Joe Root was on the crease and looked to build a partnership. But Vince got run out after some brilliant work from MS Dhoni in the 10th over. England were 2 wickets down after making 74 runs.
There were two new batsmen now at the crease in the form of skipper Eoin Morgan and Root. England needed these two to stay as long as possible and they did. The pair built a solid partnership with both of them reaching their fifties in no time. They took England’s total to 171 runs and needed just 86 runs of 134 balls.
The task ahead now was relatively easy and the pair knew that. Root hit a boundary to compete another brilliant century when England needed just 1 run to win from 34 balls and. Skipper Morgan made 88 runs out of 108 balls while Root smashed 100 off 120 balls.
On a night where both of England’s batsmen and bowlers excelled, Indian batsmen and bowlers failed. England won the one dayseries 2-1 and made a comeback in the tour after losing out to India in the T20 series.
India play England in the 1st match of the test series on August 1 in Edgbaston in Birmingham and will be looking to bounce back.
