England vs India, 2018, 3rd ODI, Who said what: Cricketing fraternity reacts as England thrash India to clinch the series
The England cricket team thrashed India in the final ODI of the three-match series to clinch the series 2-1. Chasing 257 for victory, Joe Root and Eoin Morgan put on a 186 run partnership to give England the victory. Root managed to score his second consecutive century as he remained not-out on 100 while Morgan remained unbeaten on 88.
Earlier in the innings, the England openers got them off to a flying start, with Bairstow scoring 30 runs in just 13 deliveries. Vince contributed as well, scoring 27 runs.
In the first innings, India managed to reach 256 after Virat Kohli's 71 run knock and Shardul Thakur's late blitz of 22. They got off to an extremely poor start in the beginning of the innings as Rohit Sharma failed to get going. He managed to score just 2 runs in 16 deliveries.
Adil Rashid was the pick of the bowlers for the English side as he picked up three wickets, which included a magical delivery to dismiss Virat Kohli.
Here is how the players reacted to the match:
Adil Rashid:
All the seamers bowled really well. Me and Moeen kept it tight and got rewards. It's important to stick to our strengths. It's important to play well in the nets and that's where you need to get your confidence. It's nice to play at my home ground at Headingley.
Joe Root:
It feels fantastic to come into a big series and perform well as a side. It's a testament to the hard work the guys did. We set the tone with the ball and kept taking wickets in the middle overs. In the death, we were good too, and we were calm and collected. It was on the slower side, but it was a good wicket. We could hit through the line. There was no scoreboard pressure, because of the hard work the bowlers did at the beginning of the game. it's about putting faith in your game and backing your ability, so I'm happy I have done well in the last two games and I'll take the confidence into the Tests. The pressure of this being a must-win game was important and I am happy I contributed. The Test series will be exciting. India has down well over the last few games, and we did well against Pakistan recently too.
Virat Kohli:
We were never up to the mark. We had 25-30 runs too little. England were clinical and throughly deserved to win. We need to be at our best against a team like England. The pitch was slow throughout the day which was surprising. Against the new ball it was two-paced but slow with the spinners. The bowlers did well, especially their spinners. We thought Dinesh did well, but he couldn't convert his start. Shardul was meant to get some exposure. When the changes don't come off, they look unnecessary so it must be taken in our stride. We need to have a good balance in the side, and we need to get our act right before the World Cup. We can't rely on one skill, and we need to do well in all departments. The Test squad is settled, and we want to play tough cricket and we know the English side will provide us with that.
Eoin Morgan:
The tone was set with the bowlers. The ball swung a little for 4-5 overs. We know the conditions here well, and we are happy we took advantage of that. I didn't think it would be a belter, probably a 300-320 ground, but our spinners today were brilliant. It's the guys on my right ,my team, that make my decision look good. Our guys were brilliant. In Trent Bridge we were off, and India punished us, and since then we have done well. It's satisfying that we learnt over the series and executing what we said we'd do. So that builds confidence in the team. We need to be at our best before the World Cup, and remove any glitches from our game.
Here is how the cricketing fraternity reacted to the match: